In Every Generation
by Leialovesfaith
Summary: One girl in every generation is born who alone must fight the darkness and... Well they screwed that up, didn't they? Now - Slayers everywhere. But the slayer line is ending soon with two young (although not so innocent) girls. Rachel Berry and Quinn Fabray will soon learn that their destiny will lead them to the last place they expected.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I know I have other stories still not finished. Life is hectic and I'm trying. No angst in this one. If you haven't guessed, this is a secret Crossover with Buffy. I just didn't want it to go to the Crossover section and die a slow death. So here it is. No angst in this one. Well not like you are used to with me anyway. **

**I looked everywhere for an adequate (FAITH/BUFFY) AND (RACHEL/QUINN) Pairing, but I couldn't find one. So I decided to just write it.**

**Pairings from Buffy:**

**Buffy/Faith**

**Willow/Kennedy **

* * *

><p>Willow tried very hard not to roll her eyes at the two… she hesitated to use the word women when they were acting like this.<p>

"I don't understand why we both have to go?" Faith all but whined as she sat up, removing her feet from the new coffee table.

Buffy reached over and dusted the coffee table, even as she nodded her head. "Exactly. You've got two original slayers and you're sending us both." She sat back up, crossed her arms, and stuck out her bottom lip. "That's ridiculous."

"Listen," Willow started for what felt like the fifth time. "I realize you don't understand what…"

"Understand?" Buffy cut in. Again. She jumped up. "What's there to understand? Some girls. So what. There are always some girls. And that's Faith's expertise, anyway." She flippantly raised her hand and waved in Faith's general direction.

"If you would just…" Will tried again.

"Uh wait a minute," Faith butted in this time, standing across from Buffy. "My general expertise? Uh excuse me, blondie. I'm the rouge hunter. You're the reformer and all with your big castle and the 'Oh Miss Summers, you're so wonderful. Can I kiss your ass?' bullshit these girls have going on." She turned to Willow. "Look Red. I 'm all for fighting the good fight," she faltered when Buffy scoffed behind her, but continued. "But from what I can gather these are just some slayer chicks in some high school in…" she looked down at the paper she was holding. "Motherfucking Ohio." She rolled her eyes again. "Great…"

Buffy began shaking her head dramatically at that. "Oh no. Not Ohio. I'm not going to Ohio again. No way."

"Well I'm not going!" Faith shouted at her. "I hated that fucking state the first time."

Buffy scooted closer to her, fist coiled. "Wasn't a walk in the park for me either," she sneered. "Maybe they've got a swimming pool you can drown me in."

Faith was the one rolling her eyes this time. "Oh my god, B. Get the hell over yourself for two freakin seconds. Ain't no one trying to drown you," she said, stepping into Buffy's space. "If I was… you sure the shit wouldn't be here whining, now would you?" She asked, cocking her eyebrow.

Buffy lunged and Faith's smirk quickly turned into frown. When Buffy's hands touched Faith's shoulders, Willow screamed. "Enough!" She threw her arms in the air and both slayers went flying to opposite sides of the library. "Here's the deal. You will not fight. You will go to Ohio. You will find these two slayers who until now have been weirdly, and completely, off our radar for whatever reason. And you will like it!" She all but growled the last part. She picked up two folders and threw them at each slayer. "Here are your cover stories. Learn them. Love them. Whatever. Just stop fighting. I wouldn't be sending you both if this weren't important. But these girls are in trouble. And the coven says that something is going to go down there. So you're both going. And you're not arguing about it. Or I'm sending you so far into the heart of Siberia it'll take you years to get out." Her face flashed with anger and she crossed her arms. "Plane leaves in three hours. Be ready. And not another word," she said, raising her hand.

She walked out of the library. She realized the two slayers were, well… volatile to say the least… but she didn't have a lot of choice in the matter. They were going to have to get over their… Her thoughts were interrupted from the loud yell she heard behind her.

"What the fuck Red?!"

"We're supposed to be married?!"

Willow shook her head and made herself scarce. She hadn't wanted to be around when they read that part.

When Buffy boarded the plane, she saw that Faith was already aboard, earbuds in place. She was set to ignore. Buffy shook her head. It was usual behavior.

"Are you going to take those out?" She shouted, knocking Faith's feet off the rear facing seat, and sitting down.

Faith eyed her for a moment, before removing them. "Better?" she smirked, propping her feet in the seat beside Buffy.

Buffy looked down at them before sighing dramatically. "We need to talk about this assignment."

"What's there to talk about?" Faith picked up the folder beside her. "We're supposed to find these girls. Figure out what's going on. Bring them back or whatever." She ignored the captain coming over the intercom, except to buckle her belt. "We're supposed to be undercover."

Buffy huffed. "Mrs. and Mrs. Lehane," she drawled, like the words tasted bad. "I don't see why we have to use your last name," she rolled her eyes.

"Cause Buffy Summers is like a fucking superstar or something. If anyone in that shithole town knows who you are, we've blown our cover. No one knows my fucking last name, princess."

"How did she get us these jobs?" Buffy asked, looking back over her own folder. "I mean I get mine… I was once a guidance counselor. But yours," she waved the folder around. "Principal? You've got to be kidding me."

Faith shrugged. "Beats me. I guess she knows I'm the better disciplinarian." She smirked at the blonde.

Buffy frowned. "I'm pretty sure beating the hell out of someone doesn't qualify you for that title." She watched Faith pick up her earbuds again. "You need to read the folder."

Faith made a big show of picking it up and opening it. "Was gonna…" she muttered, ignoring the blonde in front of her.

Buffy bit back the retort she was forming, as she noticed Faith was once again set to ignore mode. She picked up her own folder and opened it. It was going to be a long flight. She started reading:

_Lima, Ohio _

What kind of name was Lima? She wondered.

_Population: 20,000_

Great, so it's a small, backwoods town in Ohio. She wondered how kindly they were going to take to the new lesbian couple moving in.

_Subject: _

_Lucy Quinn Fabray. _

_Age: 17. Junior. Head Cheerleader for nationally ranked William McKinley High School. Parents: Russell and Judy Fabray. One sibling: Francine "Frannie" Fabray – lives in Chicago. One daughter – Beth Corcoran (adopted at birth) _

_Quinn is unaware of her calling and has ignored her recent gains of strength and agility. Subject suffered some family troubles last year and was forced out of her home by her father, Russell. Has recently moved back in with her mother. Father's whereabouts are unknown._

Buffy stopped reading and sighed. The girl had not an easy go of it the last year. She figured announcing that "hey you're also a slayer," probably wasn't going to go over very well.

When Willow had cast the spell that called all potential slayers, they had no idea what the consequences of their actions were going to entail. Some girls were 'transformed' immediately and others, like Lucy Quinn Fabray came into their powers. If they weren't pinpointed in time, many fell through the cracks. Some just assimilated and ignored their new powers. Others… well, others turned to different outlets. Hence where Faith and her rogue hunting came into play. She sighed again and read through the rest of the girl's bio. Friends were listed. Grades. Clubs. Everything she needed to know about the girl, right there in black and white. Including the name Rachel Barbra Berry. A long list of grievances against the girl was catalogued. All at the hands of Fabray. Including something called "slushies," which made Buffy lift an eyebrow until she read the description of what that exactly was on the following page. She sighed once more, realizing this girl was at best not a nice person. She was in fact, most likely, a bully.

When she turned the page to see the name of the other girl, she moaned.

_Subject: Rachel Barbra Berry_

She shook her head and read about the other girl, all the while realizing how hard their job had just gotten.

Two hours into the flight, she closed her folder. She hadn't even noticed Faith since they'd taken off. But she watched her turn the last page, roll her eyes overdramatically, and close hers as well.

"This sounds like a fucking mess," Faith observed. "This Quinn chick, who apparently calls herself," she flipped back through the pages "HBIC," she grimaced, "has done a real number on the other one."

Buffy nodded, finally agreeing with her about something. She opened her own folder and looked at the girls' pictures again. "Did you read the names she called her? 'Man Hands.' 'Treasure Trail.' I don't even know what treasure trail means?" Buffy said, looking at Faith.

Faith shook her head and laughed. "I'll let you Google that one."

Buffy frowned and turned back to the photographs. "They're in this Glee club thing together."

Faith nodded. "Yeah. Looks like they also shared a boyfriend or two," she sighed. "This sounds like a recipe for disaster. What's our strategy? Divide and conquer?"

Buffy shrugged. "Maybe we need to meet them first. I mean I don't know how to relate to either one of these girls."

Faith quirked her eyebrow. "Weren't you like a HBIC at your first school?"

Buffy frowned. "Not on this level. This girl makes Cordy look like an angel."

Faith nodded, absently agreeing with her. "Rachel's got two dads."

"I noticed." Buffy wasn't sure where she was going with that.

"Just saying. A town like Lima…" she twisted her lips. "Am I saying that right?"

Buffy shrugged.

"Anyway, town like that… bet there isn't some big ole' gay scene. I imagine we're going to be one of two same sex couples in this town."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "I doubt that… but you're right. That might be an in." She opened the folder. "Leroy and Hiram Berry." She studied their photograph. "Both doctors. Leroy is a chief resident of emergency at Lima General. The other one's a psychiatrist."

"Maybe we can pretend to be crazy. Or I can break your arm and we can end up in the emergency room?" She looked thoughtful and Buffy cringed.

"Are you serious?"

Faith shook her head. "No, B. Jesus." She turned a few of the other photos over. "You'd break my arm first anyway," she mumbled.

Buffy smiled in spite of herself. "Probably. So I guess our house is set up when we get there?" She asked, reading through the logistics tab Willow had highlighted. "And we just report for work tomorrow?"

Faith nodded. "Looks like. Red kills me with the mojo. She got us both jobs and we didn't even have to interview." She opened her folder to the same tab. "She's even categorized what we need to wear. Our cars are already there." She shook her head. "Or yours is. Mine is at the airport."

Buffy nodded at her. She pulled out a set of keys. "These are your keys." She chucked them at Faith who caught them without looking. She took a deep breath realizing what they were about to do. "We've got to act… married. In love." She watched Faith's face. "How are we going to do that?"

Faith shrugged. "Can't be much different than acting like we hate each other," she mumbled.

Buffy nodded. She went to speak and then decided to let it go. She figured Faith was right. And that's what scared her.

Rachel Berry's weekend had been uneventful for the most part. She'd spent Saturday night with her boyfriend and Sunday with her fathers. Both days she went through her rigorous routines of vocal warm-ups, training, and dance conditioning. She'd watched a movie with Finn. Gone to the park with her fathers. All in all, uneventful.

Unless you counted that triple backflip she'd done in the backyard while attempting a new yoga position. Or the ten miles she'd ran both mornings without breaking a sweat. Or the small fact that when a yapping dog ran in front of her while she was jogging, she jumped ten feet in the air, did a somersault, and landed on her feet like a gymnast on amphetamines.

Then maybe it was a tiny bit eventful.

She shook her head, even as she was shutting her locker. She'd been having these feelings… she couldn't think of a better word for it, for about two months now. She hadn't really noticed her own strength until the pencil she was holding in Glee one day crumbled like sand in her hand.

Ever since, she'd been testing her strength a little more. More than once she'd crushed Finn's hand when they were kissing. So she'd tried to rein it in, so to speak. She wasn't sure what had caused her newfound prowess in physically acuity but she wasn't about to look the proverbial gift horse in the mouth just yet.

Case in point, here came her sometimes so-called (By Santana nonetheless) arch nemesis… one recently reinstated HBIC. Slushie cup in hand. She shut the locker slowly, deciding that today was the day… she was about to take a stand.

She steeled herself for Quinn Fabray. She was always steeling herself for Quinn. She saw Finn out of the corner of her eye. He was backing away when he saw Quinn. Rachel bit back a groan. Useless.

"Quinn," she smiled, as the girl walked closer. "I hope that you've taken into account my previous requests as to my flavor of choice."

Quinn quirked an eyebrow. Rachel quickly looked behind her. It wouldn't be fortuitous to backflip out of the way of the incoming frozen drink if someone was blocking her intended path.

"Don't think so, blondie," she heard a husky voice call out behind Quinn. A woman slid beside the cheerleader and put her hand around the drink. "Water bottles only in the hallway." She took the drink and threw it over her shoulder.

Everyone watched it. Even though there was no lid, it landed effortlessly into the garbage can behind them. Not a drop spilled. What was more amazing – the dark haired woman standing in front of them hadn't even turned her head.

"That was mine!" Quinn screeched, turning to face the woman. She took a quick step back though and Rachel knew why. One, the person standing between them was gorgeous. She was about Quinn's height. Dark hair. Smokey eyes. Two, she was smirking. Rachel thought it was smirking. Maybe it was a grimace? Whatever it was it looked… dangerous.

She stared at Quinn for a few more seconds, her facial expression a cross between boredom and distaste before turning to address the ever growing crowd that had lined up to watch the exchange. "Listen up, kiddos. There's a new sheriff in town." She pointed to herself and though her stance was what Rachel would call aggressive, her face was laced with boredom. "Lehane." She sounded out slowly, making sure they were watching her. "I'm not sure what rules you punks followed before, but if I see one of you with a slushie cup in your hand, it's detention. I don't have to tell you why." She smirked, forcing Quinn to make eye contact with her. "In fact, you might wanna call me HBIC…" she raised her eyebrow at the blond girl, "if you're so inclined." And with that, she turned on her heels and walked off.

No one said anything for what seemed like forever. Puck finally broke the silence. "Holy shit," he whistled. "She was hot," he smiled, poking Rachel in the side. "Think she's a Jewbabe?"

Rachel, for her part, was equal parts awed and angered. She'd had a plan. A plan that was ruined by that woman that looked like a supermodel, but sounded like she was from some shady side of Boston.

Finn sidled up besides them. "I heard some teachers talking this morning," he said to Rachel and Puck. Kurt and Mercedes had gathered around as well. Rachel looked for Quinn but noticed she'd stormed off.

"Talking about what, Finncredible?" Santana asked, pinkies linked with Brittany.

Finn ignored her insult. "Said they hired a new principal. And a new guidance counselor now that Ms. Pillsbury is gone. Apparently they're married."

Finn and everyone else turned to see a slight blonde woman watching them, before turning to go into the guidance office.

Kurt clapped his hand together. "Please tell me this is true!"

Brittany screwed up her face. "Is that scary lady married to Ms. Pillsbury?"

Santana shook her head. "That's not Pillsbury."

Finn shook his head. "That was Mrs. Lehane. They're both Mrs. Lehane."

Rachel thought about what he was saying. An out gay couple? In their school? She fought down the giddy feeling that was rising. Things may possibly be changing around here after all, she mused. She briefly wondered where Quinn had stormed off to. She didn't have time to think about why Quinn was slushying her again. She turned to ask Santana when the bell rang.

"Don't even," Santana said, holding up her hand. "I've got no clue what's crawled up her ass. And I don't have to time to care," she said, grabbing Britt's hand and walking away.

Rachel let Finn take her hand and lead her to her first class. She didn't notice the woman standing outside of the guidance office frowning.

It wasn't fifteen minutes into first period, when Mrs. Blake stopped teaching to answer the phone sitting on her desk. "Of course," she responded.

Quinn was working on the theorem written on the board when Mrs. Blake stepped up to her table. "They need you in the guidance office," she clipped, arms crossed.

Quinn rolled her eyes and gathered her things. She had a feeling she knew what this was about. Word in the hallway was there wasn't just a new sheriff in town. Apparently she'd come with her own little deputy.

She sat down in one of the two chairs in front of the office and crossed her arms. She didn't really want to open up to some new Pillsbury. So what if they thought she was going to slushie Rachel Berry. Someone was always slushying Rachel Berry. And she wasn't even going to anyway. Not that that scary dark-eyed woman had asked. She'd just assumed. And she'd called herself HBIC. So Quinn figured she'd already been outed to the new principal. And apparently according to he hallway gossip said principal was also a lesbian to boot. Probably best friend with Berry's dads or something equally ridiculous.

She decided she'd just sit back and not say anything. Once Coach got wind of her being called out of class, she'd barrel in, let the new one have it, and Quinn would be on her way.

"Ms. Fabray," she heard her name called through the door. She grabbed her stuff and walked inside.

"I'm Buffy," the woman said, standing up and offering her hand.

Quinn eyed her for a moment. She was smiling at her. Quinn noticed her green eyes and faltered for a second. She felt like the woman was staring through her.

"It's actually considered polite to shake someone's hand when they introduce themselves." The blond woman broke through the silence.

Quinn took her hand. She squeezed a little harder than normal and smirked. That was until the other woman squeezed just as hard back.

"Have a seat."

Quinn tried not to shake the tingles back into her hand as she stared at the woman in front of her. She huffed loudly and took a seat. "Why am I here?" She asked, bored tone in place.

The new counselor took a deep breath and pulled out a file. "Just been doing a little bit of reading," she frowned to herself. "Ms. Pillsbury had a file on certain students at the school. Yours was rather… interesting."

Quinn rolled her eyes. "Just give me a pamphlet on bullying and teenage postpartum depression. I'm sure there's one lying around somewhere. I'm missing Pre-Cal."

"I'm not really a pamphlet-y type of counselor," Buffy remarked.

Quinn leaned closer to the desk. "More of the hands-on approach?" She asked.

Buffy sat up straighter in her chair. "You intimidate people, huh? Is that your game? Big, bad cheerleader? It's a bit old hat, don't you think?"

Quinn smirked. "If there are complaints, I haven't heard them. What's your last name?"

Buffy quirked her eyebrow. "Lehane," she answered. "Like your new principal's if that's what you're asking."

Quinn nodded, her face betraying nothing. "Seems like McKinley's gone all progressive."

Buffy shrugged. "We're good at what we do. From what I hear, this school needs us."

Quinn was about to issue a retort when the door opened. Sue Sylvester walked in and Quinn was about to smirk, until she noticed who was standing behind her.

"Q," Coach started. "Mrs. Lehane here told me you were armed and dangerous this morning. Is that correct?"

Quinn turned her eyes to the woman standing behind Sylvester. She was perched against the doorframe, arms crossed, smiling. She raised her eyebrow and stared at Quinn.

"I was drinking a slushie, Coach. Just because I was walking towards Berry doesn't mean anything." And it didn't. She wasn't going to throw it at her. She hadn't slushied Berry in months. She'd been on the receiving end of a few herself and she knew what they felt like.

Sylvester eyed her uncertainly. "Well you heard the woman. Nothing in the halls but water bottles from now on. WMHS is turning over a new leaf, Q." She raised her arm and gestured at the two women. "Equal rights for everyone, apparently." She eyed Buffy closely. "Even short people."

Though nothing close to surprise crossed her face, Quinn was floored. Sue Sylvester cowered by two women half her age? She couldn't believe it.

"Is that all?" Q uinn asked the room. "I'm seriously missing math."

Coach nodded to the new principal and walked out. "Practice at six tomorrow, Q," she called over her shoulder. "Optional of course."

Quinn groaned inwardly. Optional, her foot. And six meant five thirty. Or she was running suicides until school started. She stared at the woman behind the desk. She was less scary than the brunette smirking behind her. "Can I go?"

Buffy bit her lip and made eye contact with her wife behind her. Quinn wanted to see what she was doing, but she was too afraid to turn around. Finally, Buffy nodded.

"Get back to class," Mrs. Lehane growled.

Quinn jumped up and ran out.

That woman scared her.

The general consensus in Glee that afternoon was that things were changing at William McKinley.

"Mrs. Lehane was in the cafeteria today," Mercedes started.

Tina nodded beside her. "She just stood with her arms crossed, watching…" She took a small breath. "It was scary."

"She's been in the halls between every class," Artie offered.

"I'm telling you those boots she's wearing are Saint Laurent," Kurt said, as Quinn walked in. "And the new counselor's – Blahnik's. I wanna say the dress she was wearing was Rachel Roy, but I'm certain Mrs. Lehane's pants were Armani."

"Gotta be knockoffs," Mercedes commented. "No way teachers can afford those threads."

"Guess the beamer in the parking lot's a knockoff too then," Santana added. "It's a seven series."

Artie nodded. "She's right. Not even a year old."

"They looked a lot older," Brittany commented. It took them a moment to realize she was talking about the two women.

"The car, Britt." Santana said, off-handedly.

"Hey, Q!" Brittany called, smiling at the blonde.

Quinn waved and sat down closer to the other side of the room. She didn't want to talk about the new principal and her wife. Buffy? What the hell kind of name was that? She looked around the room for Rachel. She was noticeably absent. So was Finn for that matter. She found that irritating. Rachel was never late for Glee.

"And this is the choir room," Rachel gushed, walking in. She was followed by what Quinn was deeming the better half of the Lehane relationship.

Buffy raised her eyebrow at the room. "This is nice, you know, for a high school."

Rachel nodded proudly, as if she'd built the room with her own bare hands. "It has wonderful acoustics. I've found it definitely highlights the nuisances of our varying ranges in a rather pleasing way."

Everyone stopped what they were talking about and watched the small woman follow Rachel into the room. She was smiling as Rachel prattled on about acoustics and vocal registers.

Finn walked in behind them and smiled at the woman. "Hi. I'm Finn Hudson."

Buffy smiled back. "I'm the other Mrs. Lehane. The less scary one, apparently. Might wanna just call me Buffy instead."

"That's my grandmother's cat's name!" Britt squealed from the back riser.

Santana winced. "Madre de Dios…"

Luckily, the woman laughed. "I get that a lot more than you think. I think my mother may have been a little crazy after I was born." She shrugged, good-naturedly.

"I love your Blahniks!" Kurt squealed, unable to contain himself. "Your style is impeccable."

"Thank you," she smiled warmly at him. She turned to Rachel. "Do you guys practice everyday?"

Rachel nodded. "Oh yes. Though we've definitely improved our standing as a ranking show choir this year, we still have far to go if we wish to be up to competition standards next year."

Buffy smiled at her and surveyed the room. "I'd love to watch you perform one day," she smiled brightly at them. "If that's okay?"

Puck spoke first. "We love an audience. Especially one as hot…"

Quinn rolled her eyes and smacked him on the back of his head. She knew what he was about to say.

Luckily, Mr. Shue walked in before Puckerman could get suspended. Again. "Hi," he said too brightly. "You must be the new guidance counselor."

"Save it," Santana smirked. "She's batting for the other team, Mr. Shue."

"You play baseball, too?" Brittany squealed.

"Uh…" Buffy started to answer her.

Santana held up her hand and whispered in Brittany's ear instead.

"Oh!" Brittany giggled. "Your wife is hot."

Quinn watched the new counselor blush. "Okay. Well thank you. I think… I'm sure she'd be pleased to know that you…" she was actually stuttering.

"Wife?" Schuester asked.

"Uh… yeah." Buffy stuttered again. "My wife is the new principal."

Quinn watched her carefully. Her bravado was completely gone. And she looked… well, almost embarrassed. She filed that away. It might be useful later.

"Oh," Shue said, clearly the last one at this school to know anything. "I met her earlier. She's quite…"

"Hot," Puck supplied.

"Fashionable," Kurt said.

"Smokin," Santana added.

"Professional," Mr. Shue said. "There was some football players in the hallway. Apparently there was an altercation of some kind. She was…" he faltered, looking for the right word. "adept at diffusing the situation."

"I saw that," Mike piped up. "She picked Karofsky off the ground like a little kid."

Buffy's face twisted into concern. "You must have been confused."

He shook his head at her. "No. She's strong. He's got to weigh two hundred easy. She just grabbed his collar and sat him down on the other side of the hallway. Like he was a baby. I didn't hear what she said to the others, but… they scattered. I've never seen them run like that."

Quinn's eyebrow shot up at the word strong. What she didn't notice was that Rachel's did as well.

Buffy cleared her throat. "Well, she works out."

Lame, Quinn thought. No one could pick up Karofsky. Except maybe her.

"Who works out?" Mrs. Lehane walked in. All clad in Armani and Saint Laurent, Quinn guessed. No one questioned Kurt's fashion radar. She smiled at Schuester, and turned to her wife. "Ready to go?"

Buffy nodded. To most people it looked like she was smiling, but Quinn recognized a pissed off countenance. She'd perfected a facial features mask long ago. Seems like this Buffy woman was just as skilled.

Rachel smiled at Mrs. Lehane and held out her hand. "Hi, I'm Rachel Berry. This is the Glee Club. Mr. Schuester is our sponsor."

"We've met," she said to Shue. She shook Rachel's hand. "Word is that you have a voice that rivals Streisand."

Quinn rolled her eyes. You've got to be kidding me, she thought.

"Are you a fan?" Rachel beamed.

"I appreciate a good voice. My Ma used to sing "The Way We Were" to me when I was a girl. She was from the Bronx. Babs is from the Bronx. You know how it is." She smiled at Rachel. "Can you sing "The Way We Were"?

Rachel was nodding enthusiastically. "You'll have to come back and listen to us practice. We're actually really good."

Mrs. Lehane smirked, making eye contact with Quinn, before turning back to Rachel. "Sounds awesome."

And now Rachel was nodding her head right off her body. The rest of the club groaned.

Mrs. Lehane noticed. "Not a fan of Barbra?" She asked the room.

Quinn grimaced. Even her inquisitive face was scary.

"We sing all sorts of music here," Brittany offered. "Show tunes. Pop hits…"

"A LOT of Journey," Finn added.

The corner of her lips turned up before she turned to Schuester for a second, taking him in. She turned back to the group. "Not surprising."

Schuester had the decency to look taken aback, but then he caught a glimpse of her smile and kept his mouth shut.

Everyone laughed. Everyone but Quinn. It was funny, but Quinn couldn't help by be a little freaked out by the woman standing in front of the room. Both of them really. She watched how they were almost flanking Rachel… even if Rachel didn't notice it. Quinn definitely did.

Mrs. Lehane turned to Quinn. "Hope practice is fun tomorrow," she smirked, grabbing Buffy's hand. "Ready, babe?"

Buffy shivered. It was quick. And no one noticed it but Quinn, but she'd shivered and almost pulled away before she let her wife take her by the hand. She waved to everyone before, patting Rachel on the shoulder. "Have a good afternoon, Rachel," Buffy said, following her wife out.

It was then that Quinn felt it. A feeling she'd been getting all day. She jumped up. "I forgot I have a doctor's appointment today," she announced to the room before running and following them out.

"Look I know we're supposed to be married, but I'm not the wife." Buffy growled, pulling away from Faith.

"I don't even know what that means, B," Faith answered, turning to her office.

Buffy stomped her feet and followed her into the room. "It means I'm not 'babe.' It means you don't get to tell me what to do. We both know who's in charge here."

Faith grabbed her stuff. "Are you serious right now?"

"Yes. You're acting all… you know butchy lesbian and stuff. And I'm like supposed to be the… the other one. Like you're the one in charge and I'm just you're…" She scrunched up her face. "There's a word for this, isn't there? What is it? I know you know, since you're all… well… you know…"

Faith studied her face. "I'm all what?" She asked.

"You know… like… well, I mean… like gay and stuff." Buffy stuttered out.

Faith laughed. "I need a fucking drink," she finally said. "This school is ridiculous."

Buffy eyed her. "Did you pick up a football player today? You can't go around manhandling teenagers. You'll blow our cover."

Faith was about to answer her when they were interrupted by a knock on her door. Her eyebrow shot up at Buffy as she moved to open it. Her favorite blonde cheerleader was standing on the other side. "Miss Fabray," she spoke neutrally.

The bravado Quinn had mustered up in the hallway quickly melted away as she stared at the woman in front of her.

Buffy walked around Faith. "Do you need something, Quinn?"

Quinn shook her head. "No… I just… I wanted to…" She backed away from the door.

"Wanted to what?" Faith asked.

"I uh… I wasn't going to hurt Rachel. This morning… I…" She was looking at the ground.

Buffy put her hand on Quinn's shoulder. "You what?"

"I'm not like that anymore," she whispered, finding the woman's face. "I wouldn't hurt her. I mean I know why people would think that. I shouldn't have brought a drink to school. That was stupid." She looked back down at the ground.

Faith started to scoff, but Buffy shot her a look effectively shutting her up.

"Why would people think that, Quinn?" Buffy asked her.

"Because I haven't always been…" Quinn closed her eyes. "…nice to her. But I've changed. I promise," she said, looking at the woman standing in front of her. "I'm trying to at least."

Buffy smiled at her, even as Faith rolled her eyes. "Faith, why don't you go get the car?"

Faith grunted but walked out anyway. She shot the young girl a glare, and Quinn tried her best not to visibly shiver.

"Have a seat," Buffy said, sitting in one of the two chairs on the side of the room.

Quinn nodded and sat beside her. She was having trouble making eye contact with the woman now that they were the only ones in the room.

"I believe you. For what it's worth," Buffy said.

"Your wife doesn't." Quinn muttered.

Buffy sighed. "Yeah, well… Faith… uh, Mrs. Lehane has a harder time trusting people. Guess that's why she's the principal and I'm the counselor." She watched the girl's face carefully. "Your reputation preceded you to be honest. Faith's specialty is girls like you."

"Like me?"

Buffy nodded. "Angry." She took a deep breath and decided to go for it. "Hiding something."

Quinn shot her eyebrow up. "What do you think I'm hiding?"

Buffy stood up and opened the door. Today was not the day to have this conversation. "Several things, Miss Fabray." She ushered the other girl out the door. "See you tomorrow," she smiled brightly.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for the reviews. I hope you guys like this chapter as well. **

Before on the rare occasion when Rachel ran, she would always carry a rape whistle. Her fathers had taught her from an early age that abundant caution was important and necessary for someone like her. She never asked but she knew that _someone_ meant tiny. And possibly the daughter of the only out gay couple in Lima. Unfortunately, that had been enough to scare her into investing in an elliptical.

Now though… Rachel wasn't really afraid. Thought she hadn't had a chance to try anything, she had a feeling that she could take anyone who tried to stop her. The thought gave her a renewed energy and she ran faster. She liked getting up early, a couple of hours before she had to leave for school, and running in the park behind her house. It was quiet and she could think. Or sing. Or whatever. She just knew it was nice because no one was out there since the sun didn't rise for at least another hour.

A rustle in the bushes, beside the path she was running on, caused her to look over her shoulder. Again, she wasn't scared, just curious. Still she stopped.

"Somebody there?" She asked.

She waited for a moment and then when no one answered, she smiled to herself and continued running.

Suddenly something slammed into her from the side and she was rolling. She didn't get a chance to see what it was before she was throwing it... or he she realized... off of her. "Get away from me!" She yelled. "I will have you know that although I have no desire to hurt you, I am more than capable of doing so."

"Cute," he muttered, standing up. When he lunged at her, she saw his face for the first time. Her reaction definitely gave him an advantage. While she was distracted, he swept her legs out from under her. "This won't hurt," he snarled, yellow eyes sparkling, "much."

She raised her knee intent on throwing him off again, when she was met with nothing but a pile of dust. Standing above her, a piece of sharp wood in her hand, was her principal, Mrs. Lehane. Rachel clutched her chest. "What the heck was that?" She asked, her breathing extremely labored. She begin brushing the dust off of her, visibly wincing. "Gross," she muttered.

Faith reached down and gave her a hand. "B's gonna fucking kill me," she whispered, pulling Rachel to her feet. "Look, I'm gonna walk you home. Go back to bed. This is all a dream. I know it seems real, but yeah…" She was busy on her cellphone.

Rachel was watching the woman with a look of wide-eyed innocence that Faith found both enduring and a little scary. "Who's B?"

Faith was distracted. "B what?" She asked, still texting. Her phone rang and Rachel was about to tell her how rude she was being, when she raised her hand to cut her off and answered it. "Yeah, Red. You want me to tell her or what? Yeah. Dream. I can get her back. No worries. Just send the mojo. Yeah. Might wanna give the little lady a heads up this is fucking happening 'fore I get home. 'Preciate it. Bye." She sighed and an her fingers through her hair.

Rachel put her hands on her hips. She knew she should respect her elders and she really liked Mrs. Lehane. Both of them, actually. But this was ridiculous. "Okay. Who was that man? And why are you answering the phone when someone almost attacked us? Shouldn't we go to the police or call them with your phone? What are you doing out here anyway? And why do you have that pointy stick while you are…" She didn't finish the last question…. As she slowly passed out and landed in Faith's arm.

"Fuckin A," Faith muttered, jogging back towards Rachel's house. This shit was going to be harder than she thought.

"I just don't get why we can't tell them?" Faith asked, clearly exasperated. She was pacing back and forth in her office, Buffy seated across the room.

"I told you, I don't know what is going down yet," Willow answered through the speakerphone. "I know it's frustrating but as far as I can tell, something big is rising there. Until I know more… I just think it's prudent to continue with the mission. Watch the girls. Protect them. We don't want to make unnecessary targets out of them or their loved ones if we don't have to."

"Are you sure the dream worked?" Buffy asked. She was more than a little hesitant to trust the whole 'Pretend It's a Dream' theory. It wasn't that she didn't love her best friend and all, and she did trust her... well, most of the time, but sometimes... well...

"Yes," Willow answered for the third time. "Yes, Buff. The dream worked. She doesn't remember anything."

Faith shot Buffy a glance. One thing they could agree on – magic tended to fuck them.

"Stop with the looking!" Willow squealed.

"You watching us, Red?" Faith asked, looking around the room.

"No," she giggled. "I just know you. Look, if you don't believe me, call her into the office. You're the principal."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Duh," she said. "We'll call you back, Will." She reached for the receiver and dialed the number for the secretary. "Could you call Rachel Berry for us?" She sat back and crossed her legs. "This is the weirdest mission I've been on in a while."

Faith was leaning against the desk with her arms crossed. She nodded distractedly. "What the hell we supposed to ask her? Did you almost get attacked by a vampire until your super hot principal saved you with what you called a pointy stick?"

Buffy frowned back. She ran her fingers through her hair. They had been here two days. Two days of pretending to be married. Two days sleeping in the same house. (Though not in the same bed.) Two days and she already felt like she'd been doing this for two years. She wondered briefly why every moment with Faith was a battle with patience she was afraid she would lose. "Well, inappropriate questioning aside, I don't think that's actually wise. Why don't we just ask her about the bullying?"

Faith sighed, but nodded. She didn't think it was a good idea to bring up the fact the girl was a fucking target or whatever. She didn't really know her but from what she could tell, she was incredibly well-adjusted for a Broadway singing, gay dad having, super tiny, new (and unaware) slayerette. But like most things lately, she deferred to Buffy. She had spent the last two days wondering why the hell that was. Unfortunately, and deep down, she knew the answer to that question. But she was avoiding it at all costs.

Quinn watched Rachel walk out of the classroom with a pensive look on her face. There was something up with the new "sheriff in town" and she couldn't put her finger on what it was. Besides the obvious oddities like two hot gay women swooping into McKinley and generally ruining her life, she knew she was missing something. She thought back to this morning.

_Stupid optional cheerleading practice. It wasn't as if the training was all that grueling anymore. She could, and did, run laps around the entire squad. It was getting up at the crack of dawn and trudging to school that had her wishing she'd never rejoined the squad. _

_"You infants should take a cue from your captain!" Sue trilled through the bullhorn. "Until the rest of you can run without breaking a sweat, we'll never win another championship! You all disgust me! When I was your age I was…"_

_Quinn tuned the rest of Coach's ramble out when she saw the now familiar BMW pull into the parking lot. Even though they were yards away, she could still hear them speaking. She looked around briefly but realized that no one else even acknowledged they'd arrived at school. She shook off what that meant and concentrated on their conversation. _

_"I don't trust it," the principal was saying. "You know how that shit has a tendency to bite us in the ass."_

_"Well, we don't particularly have a choice here, Faith. Willow said she wouldn't remember."_

_Quinn quirked her eyebrow at that. _

_"It just feels wicked weird. Like we're taking advantage of her or something." Faith answered. "What if she pulls that shit tomorrow morning too? I mean shit; I was just running. These fuckers aren't even supposed to be in this town. We closed the goddamn hellmouth in this fucking state."_

_Quinn stopped running at that. What were they talking about? Who were they talking about?_

_"Why were you running that early?" Buffy asked. "You never get up that early."_

_Though Quinn couldn't see her, she was pretty sure the taller woman was rolling her eyes. "Focus, B. Jesus."_

_"Move your ass, Fabray!" Coach squealed through her bullhorn._

_Quinn jumped and took off. She missed the look the two women gave each other before they walked inside._

She made a note to Google the word "hellmouth" when school was out. Even thinking about their conversation this morning, gave her an itchy feeling.

Or possibly that was Puckerman, who was sitting behind her in the Spanish class she shared with most of the Gleeks poking her in the back with a pencil. "Why'd they call Rach to the principal's office?" He whispered.

She turned around to glare at him. " Will you stop being annoying? And how the hell am I supposed to know that, Puckerman? Am I Rachel's keeper?"

"Maybe they are suspending her for her awful crimes against fashion. Anyone who wears Blahniks is bound to be offended by that horrible getup she's trying to pass off as clothing," Kurt chimed in beside her.

"No joke," Mercedes agreed. "That sweater did something to my eyes. I think I'm blind now."

For some reason the comments irked her. She couldn't put her finger on why that was… maybe she was just tired of the bullying. Maybe she was tired of the jealousy. Maybe she was just tired. "Maybe you just looked in the mirror and the surplus of colors burned them," Quinn harshly whispered.

Several pairs of eyes turned to her.

She hadn't been lying to the new guidance counselor yesterday when she said she'd changed. Normally, Quinn would be the first person to comment about Rachel's abrupt departure and her hideous clothing choices. But lately, she'd felt a bit… different. Protective? She couldn't quite get a handle on what that meant. It wasn't like Rachel had suddenly stopped being annoying. She figured that would take an act of God to change. It was just more about the fact that she felt some sort of… she wasn't even sure anymore… connection or whatever to the girl. It had kept her up at night more than once. Last night specifically. It had bothered her that the assumption was always going to be that she was out to "get" Rachel Berry. What the hell had Rachel really ever done to her? To anyone? It all seemed so pointless and stupid now.

She turned her gaze specifically to Kurt. "And your shoes are animal print. I don't see how Berry's animal sweater can offend you, but you can walk around looking like two skinned cats have crawled onto your feet." She held her breath waiting for the fallout.

She wasn't disappointed.

"You hit your head in the shower this morning?" Santana asked.

"Seriously, Q?" Puck chimed in. "Did you?"

"Class," Mr. Schue said, trying to get their attention.

Quinn ignored him. "No Santana, I did not hit my head in the shower."

Santana quirked an eyebrow at her. "You realize you're standing up for Berry, right? Rachel Berry? Your arch nemesis or whatever."

Quinn sighed and closed her eyes for a moment. Was that what she was doing? Screw it, she thought. "Okay, first of all the fact that you referred to her as my arch nemesis makes you a giant dork. And second, I'm not standing up for Berry. I'm just saying if you guys are going to insult someone we should probably all do a double take in the mirror before you all open your giant mouths. You wanna pick on Rachel, fine. Be my guest. But at least have the guts to be honest about why you're doing it. It's not like she doesn't know. And when she leaves us all behind, chances are she'll be laughing all the way to the bank." She turned to Kurt and Mercedes. "And then you'll be begging to be her friend." Which means I'm standing up for Rachel Berry. She mentally pictured her sanity boarding a train and leaving her for good.

Kurt put his hand on his chest. "Well, I've never…"

Mercedes just stared open-mouthed.

The rest of the class was muttering to themselves.

Quinn held up her hand. "Save it. We all know that you two are both as big a diva as Rachel every wanted to be. The difference is, she owns its. While you hide behind cattiness and just general nastiness. We pick on her every single day and she walks back in here with her head held high. Well… as high as it can be held for a midget." She shook her head. "But whatever… all I'm saying is be honest about why you're doing it." She inwardly sighed. It was kind of amazing how Berry never let these morons (present company included) get to her.

She turned back around in her seat and crossed her arms. She could feel everyone's eyes on her. She waved her hand at Schue. "Continue."

He was watching her, as speechless as the rest of them.

She rolled her eyes. "Look, I can pretty much guarantee that everyone in here has at one time or another wanted to at least slap Rachel, but I'm pretty sure that we've felt sorry for her a time or two as well. It's probably about time to stop acting like a bunch of sad wannabes and acknowledge it. She's our star. We all know it. And the fact that she doesn't bite back just proves every single point I'm trying to make and we all know that too. So get over yourselves." She turned to Schue again. "Can we please just get back to the lesson or whatever?"

He still couldn't answer her. She briefly contemplated the uselessness of the only adult in the room. For the most part, this school was full of them. How the hell can they hire incompetent moron after incompetent moron, she wondered.

Brittany raised her hand. It took Quinn a moment to realize she was waiting on her to acknowledge.

"Yeah, B?"

She shrugged and then smiled at Quinn. "Uh, I think you're right, Q. No one has ever stood up for Rach. I think it's sweet you did."

Santana and Puckerman both snickered at that. Quinn felt her cheeks get red. She knew she was standing up for Berry. She pretended that that was why she was embarrassed.

"Plus, Finn's like her boyfriend and everything and he doesn't say anything. He just watches her with that look that he gets. I kind of wonder if it's his 'I've Gotta Poop' look. Cause that's what Lord Tubbington looks like when he needs to be let out." Brittany turned to Finn. "Maybe if you'd…"

"Brittany," Mr. Schue finally woke up from his daze. "That was inappropriate." Useless Educator to the rescue. Someone insulted the Super Giant.

"Yeah," Finn interjected. "I stand up for Rach and stuff."

Quinn could feel the heat rising under collar. "Are you kidding me?" She twirled in her seat and stared the boy down. "What kind of air are you breathing up there?"

"Nitrus Oxide, probably," Santana muttered. "I hear it gives you helluva hallucinations."

Quinn ignored her and turned towards Schue. "And you? You're the worst. You let every one of us insult Rachel and you don't say a peep. You just sit back and watch until someone insults your precious Finn." Even as she was speaking, she knew she'd just sealed her fate, so to speak. But really. The man was not only useless, he was partial. It was disgusting how he treated Rachel… uh, everyone except Finn.

"Holy shit," Puckerman muttered behind her. "Go, Q."

"Principal's office!" Schue exclaimed. "Now!"

Quinn grabbed her stuff, not really surprised. "Whatever," she muttered, casually walking out of the room.

Quinn barreled into the principal's office madder than she'd been in quite some time. Stupid Schuester and his dumb golden boy. How hard was it to get qualified teachers at this school? They could put an ad on Craig's List and get better applicants.

She resisted ripping the handle from the door and counted to ten. It didn't really work, but at least she didn't have to add destruction of school property to her ever-growing discipline record.

"Miss Fabray?" The secretary asked. "Mr. Schue said you've caused a disturbance in class?"

Quinn huffed and sat down in the chair across from the front desk. She didn't bother answering her. Disturbance. She couldn't believe him.

"Quinn?" Rachel spoke softly. "Are you okay?"

Shit, Quinn thought and jumped at the sound of Rachel's voice. Good job forgetting she was in here, Fabray.

She closed her eyes and breathed in and out. When she had calmed down, she let go of the death grip she had on the arms of the chair. If the chair had been human it would've breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm fine, Berry. Just a misunderstanding in class," she muttered, not looking towards the girl.

Misunderstanding. Understatement. She had no idea what had come over her. What had caused her to freak out on half the class (and the teacher no less) over Rachel Berry. When she finally turned to look at her, her heart skipped a beat. Literally. For one second, it stopped beating. Quinn started coughing profusely as it started back again.

"Quinn!" Rachel squealed jumping up. "Are you okay?" She put her hand on the girl's back intent on rubbing it.

The jolt of electricity she felt caused her coughing fit to reach new heights. It was like someone touched her with a live wire. She was still coughing when she noticed Rachel placing a water bottle in her lap. "Here. Drink this. Please."

Quinn nodded and was grateful she didn't touch her this time. She caught Rachel's eyes. She wondered if Berry felt it as well? She also knew she was about to ask her about it. Quinn was saved (or doomed) by the door opening behind them.

"Fabray," the scary Lehane barked. "I just got off the phone with your Spanish teacher. Get in my office."

Quinn jumped up. She realized quickly it was probably best not to argue with her.

"You too, Berry!" She barked again.

Rachel jumped this time too. She quickly followed them inside.

"Have a seat," Buffy said. She was leaning against Mrs. Lehane's desk. Quinn noticed how much nicer the tiny one looked. They were like total opposites. Dark and light. Smiling and Frowning.

She eyed Berry. Tag-teaming us, she thought and tried to communicate with her eyebrow. Rachel must have understood because she nodded slightly back to her.

Both girls sat down.

"Are you okay?" Buffy asked Quinn. She noticed the girl seemed pale. She heard her coughing a few moments ago.

The girl nodded. In all honestly, she was about ten leagues away from okay. But there was no way she was telling anyone in that room that. She steeled her face.

"So what happened in Spanish?" The other one asked. She was studying Quinn's face with a look Quinn couldn't place.

Quinn sat back. They really didn't expect her to answer that question with Berry in the room did they? Plus could we go back to the jolt of electricity Berry had just caused her, she thought. She couldn't even get her thoughts together.

"I wasn't in Spanish," Rachel started. "Someone called me to the office."

Buffy nodded. "That was us."

Faith sighed behind them. She wasn't expecting that shifty Spanish teacher to call her and tell her Quinn Fabray was coming to see her. She asked him what she'd done but he was annoyingly vague about everything other than "disrespectful" and "Rachel's owl sweater." Whatever the holy fuck that meant. She took a chance to look at said sweater and fought very hard not to roll her eyes. That was the ugliest fucking sweater she'd ever seen in her life. She saw the blonde girl catch her and quickly averted her gaze.

"Mr. Schue mentioned something about you being disrespectful and…" Buffy faltered here.

"And Rachel…"Faith supplied.

"Why am I here?" Rachel asked. A valid question, Quinn thought.

"We wanted to talk to you about…" this time Faith faltered.

"Glee," Buffy interjected. "Faith here was the captain of her glee club in high school and she wanted to see how you guys were fairing and if she could do anything to help out. She loves Broadway." She smirked inwardly, even though she knew she'd be paying for that little lie later.

It took every ounce of compunction Faith Lehane had ever mustered not to pick up the paperweight and throw it at Buffy freakin' Summer's head. Instead she nodded. "Yep."

Rachel clapped her hands at that. "Oh my gosh! That would be great. I bet you've got a superb vocal range. Your voice has that smoky Lena Horne sound."

Faith raised her eyebrow at that. "Actually…"

"Do you want me to just wait outside or whatever?" Quinn interrupted. She still didn't trust these women. Who gave a shit if the tall one could sing? She needed to have a mental breakdown and it was kind of impossible at the moment given the audience and all.

"No," Faith answered. "What happened in Spanish class?"

Quinn closed her eyes and sighed before opening them. As aggravated as she was, she knew that she had to speak up or she wasn't getting out of here any time soon. There was something about these women. Something… different. She felt sort of drawn to them. Like she could trust them. That made her want to run really far away. "It was nothing. Kurt said something about Berry and…" here she stopped. "It was nothing. Look. I'll apologize to Schuester or whatever. There's no reason to repeat…" she finally trailed off.

All three of them realized quickly what she was trying to say.

"If I may?" Rachel asked. The two women nodded at her. "I assume that Kurt insulted my wardrobe, my long-windedness, or my stature. It's usually one of the three." She tried smiling at the guilt crossing all three faces. "He'd never insult my voice. Even he's not that catty."

"Clothes," Quinn muttered beside her. Heat rose on her cheeks. How could she not realize what she'd done to Rachel in the past? She was starting to feel more and more like the bitch everyone believed she was.

Rachel nodded. "I just don't understand why Quinn was sent to the office and no one else?"

So here it is, she thought. Proof I have finally lost my mind. "Because I told him and Mercedes they were divas. And I called them all out on making fun of you for stupid things because they're jealous. And then Brittany said something about Finn not sticking up for you and her cat… I lost focus for a minute… and then Schue went all 'Finn is wonderful. Be nice.' And I told him that a lot of this was his fault because he just sits around and doesn't say anything unless his precious Neanderthal gets his giant feelings hurt or whatever. And then I got sent here." She turned to look at the two women who were both setting against the desk now, arms no longer crossed. Even so, she could feel Rachel staring at her, mouth agape.

"You defended me?" She whispered.

It turned Quinn's stomach to hear how small she sounded in that instance. Any bravado she'd previously planned to use to get out of this mess, disappeared with those three words. Great. How screwed am I, she wondered? Rachel was staring at her with a look of pure awe. Yep, Berry, we have landed in the Twilight Zone, she wanted to say.

"I know no one believes me, but I'm trying here, Berry. It's not right. People are just jealous of you. I mean look at you. You're like this tiny little gorgeous diva with a voice that would make angel's cry. You're beautiful, fashion choices aside, confident, and fearless. Of course they're jealous. We're all jealous. I'm just tired of pretending I'm better than you. Clearly that's a joke. And everyone knows it." She was looking down at her hands by the end of her speech. She mentally swallowed at the realization she'd called her tiny. And an angel. This was it. The beginning of the end of Quinn Fabray's sanity. The train had left the station.

For a few seconds no one said anything. Buffy was smiling; proud of the girl she didn't really know. She could feel the slayer in her. Faith's eyebrow was raised and she watched the blonde girl's face, even as she stared at her hands. She knew what the girl was feeling. How it felt to want to protect someone who didn't need protecting. All of a sudden, for Faith at least, everything about these two girls clicked into place. She felt a wave of empathy wash over her. Great, she thought to herself. Now she was going to actively worry about the girl. Getting attached to slayers had a way of biting her squarely on the ass. She watched the two girls not looking at each other, but… well, she knew from experience they were well aware of the other one's presence. She had a moment of déjà vu. It wasn't pleasant.

Rachel, for her part, was watching Quinn not watch her. She was the first one to speak, though she addressed the two women in front of her. "I have two wardrobes," she all but whispered.

Buffy shook her head. Up until this moment, she was lost in her own thoughts. The girls seemed so different and yet so… well, alike. It was breaking her heart because in reality she'd been where both of them are. When Rachel spoke, it knocked her out of her revelry. "Huh?" Two wardrobes? What the heck was she talking about, Buffy wondered.

Even Quinn was watching her. She raised an eyebrow at the revelation.

Rachel nodded. "Two wardrobes. At my house. I have my school clothes and my real clothes. My dads go to work early, so I just wait to get dressed before they leave. I've had this sweater since sixth grade." She shrugged. "It's the only good thing about not growing any taller," she smiled. "All my clothes still fit."

Buffy nodded distractedly.

Faith smirked. "B knows the feeling, don't you?"

She frowned at her fake wife. "Focus." She nodded for Rachel to continue.

Rachel frowned softly at Quinn. "At home, I don't talk all the time. I think here it's a defense mechanism. I overcompensate when I'm nervous. I'm always nervous. Except when I sing. And I realize that I'm obnoxious," she looked at her hands this time. "But yeah, most of it's a mask. I tell myself I'm playing a part. Preparing for my big Broadway debut or whatever. It's either that or cry in the bathroom."

The silence that followed this time was almost visible. Quinn felt nauseous. Buffy felt sad. And Faith… Faith felt murderous.

"Why would you cry?" Buffy finally asked.

"High school is hard sometimes," Rachel answered her. "It can kill you if you let it."

Buffy nodded. Literally she wanted to say. Especially if there is a giant hole from hell in the basement.

Faith also wanted to tell Rachel how right she fucking was about that. High School had almost killed B more times than she could count. Of course she couldn't say that. Now she felt another wave of emapthy. Goddamn it. Today was not going well for her. These feelings were not cool.

"You used to be a part of this bull…" she almost said bullshit, but stopped herself just in time. "…bullying?" She motioned with her head to the blonde.

Quinn swallowed and nodded. She knew it was time to go all in. She didn't have anything else to lose at this point. "Yeah. Eat or be eaten. At least…" she shrugged at the principal and turned to Rachel instead. "I'm sorry, Berry. For making you feel that way or whatever. It was really wrong and I apologize." She groaned. "Or not apologize cause that's lame." She sighed. "I just don't…" want you to hurt ever again, she didn't say. "I don't want to be that person anymore," she finally whispered.

Faith and Buffy were watching the girls like fans at a tennis match at this point.

Points to the blonde, Faith thought. That was ballsy.

Rachel did not hide her surprise as well as she thought. She too a deep breath. "You were always more than that, Quinn. I knew it was an act. We all pretend."

Quinn nodded, even as she felt the tears start to sting her eyes. She sucked in a deep breath. She did not want to cry in front of the three of them.

The two slayers caught each other's eyes. "Why don't you and Rachel go back to your office for a few?" Faith asked before Quinn could start crying.

She wasn't sure when she decided which girl was "hers" so to speak. But those stupid unshed tears in Fabray's eyes made the decision for her. If she and B were yin and yang, then she and Fabray were yin and yin. Same shit, different day. Some girls just needed her. She figured this was one of them.

Buffy nodded at her, and half-smiled. It made Faith's stomach jump and she fought the urge to smile back. Going back down that road was seriously dangerous for everyone involved. Still… she knew the pain the girl in front of her was experiencing. She watched them leave. Watched Rachel hesitate at the door, like she could do something for the blonde. Faith frowned to herself as they left.

"Detention?" Quinn asked, breaking her from her thoughts.

"Huh?" Faith answered.

"Do I get detention or whatever?" She'd gone back to the bored façade.

Faith sighed watching her. She recognized the fake it till you make it face. She'd perfected it. "No. If what you said is correct, you were only doing what was right. Would this Schuester corroborate this story?"

Quinn pondered that question for a moment. "It's what happened. He heard everything. I assume he'll have an excuse as to why he didn't get involved until Britt spoke up, but… yeah. I'm not lying."

Faith studied her for a moment. "I don't think you are." She looked into the girl's eyes. "Anything else you wanna tell me?"

Quinn watched her face for sincerity. She was surprised that it was actually there. Still, wanting to trust someone and actually trusting them were two different things. "I don't know what you mean."

Faith sighed at her. "I sort of think you do." She moved around to her desk and sat down, so she could face the girl without intimidating her. "Look," she started, "I know you probably think I'm a bitch or whatever…" she stopped a moment. "Actually, that's fair. I am a bitch. I figure it just takes one to know one, right?"

Quinn gave her points for that. It took guts to be that direct. "Yeah," she answered. "I guess it does."

Faith nodded back. "So you and me… we are kind of like…" she stopped, thinking. She couldn't say everything. For whatever stupid reason, she couldn't tell the girl what the hell she was feeling was normal. So she had to hedge a bit. "I've known Buffy since high school," she finally settled with.

Quinn quirked an eyebrow at that. "You don't look old or anything, so don't get me wrong here, but… you guys have been together a long time." She even smiled a bit. "That's actually kind of sweet."

Faith shook her head. Well this is gonna suck, she thought. "No. You misunderstand me." She sighed. "Look I'm a Southie," she noticed the girl's confused face. "South side of Boston. And Buffy, she's all sunny California. We were complete opposites. And she had like… well, everything I wanted, you know?"

Quinn nodded and felt a little nauseous at the revelation that she knew was coming.

"I was so jealous of her. How she just seemed to have it all or whatever." She was trying to choose her words carefully. She was used to dealing with girls like Quinn. Girls who seemed to be about one inch away from full on losing it. "I thought I hated her. I really did. I woke up in the morning thinking about it. I went to sleep every night thinking about it. And then I realized, I woke up every morning and went to sleep every night thinking about Buffy. She was always the first and last thought I had. Boy was that a revelation," she muttered.

Quinn felt the color drain out of her face. She quickly looked away. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Faith frowned and waited for the girl to face her again. When she did, she continued. "Right. Well, it's not my job to tell you what you're feeling. I'm just telling you what I felt. I didn't realize at the time that Buffy was probably going through her own shit. That even though she had everything, she also… it doesn't matter. Everyone has burdens, right? But all that fear I had…" she made sure to catch the girl's eyes. "…it caused a lot of damage. I hurt a lot of people because I was afraid. Especially Buffy. I hurt her the most. And it wasn't until someone else tried to hurt her that… well… I just wanted to protect her, right? And then it hit me. In that ton of bricks kind of metaphor." She stopped speaking again.

Quinn was almost breathless. She wanted to run out of that office and not stop until she got to the state line. She made herself stay in that chair. It was the hardest thing she had done in quite some time.

"Once I realized what I was feeling… I chose wrong. I self-destructed. I cannot tell you the damage I caused. Most importantly, I hurt her. The one person in the world that ever really loved me and I almost destroyed her."

Quinn swallowed. "Why are you together now?"

Faith closed her eyes. That being "together" was the only lie she told right then. "Because Buffy is a better person than I am. Always has been. And she forgave me. I didn't deserve it. But… I love her too much not to take it." Her chest constricted and she realized how much truth was in that statement. She'd just poured her heart out to the girl in front of her. She was mentally berating herself until she saw Quinn's eyes. "Are you okay?" She asked softly.

Quinn nodded and then shook her head. She put her hand to her chest and Faith realized she wasn't breathing properly. She jumped up and ran around and bent in front of the girl. "Breathe," she stated calmly.

Quinn shook her head. If she'd been able to speak she would've said she couldn't.

It didn't matter. Faith knew. She'd had the same feeling more than one time. She took Quinn's hand and put it against her own chest. She concentrated on breathing deeply. "Breath like me. Take deep breaths."

Quinn closed her eyes and focused on the feeling of the woman's chest rising and falling. She felt the air slowly enter her lungs. She pushed it out quickly and took another one. She fought the urge to gasp and kept her eyes closed until her breathing regulated.

Faith placed the girl's hand back in her lap and stood up. She rested against the desk and waited for her to calm down. "It's gonna be okay," she told her. "I promise."

Quinn nodded quickly. Her lungs were hurting and she was more terrified in that instance than when the plus sign had appeared on her pregnancy test last year. "Why are you helping me?" She finally asked.

It was Faith's turn to close her eyes and she inwardly cursed the red-headed witch for making this harder. Saying 'because I'm your principal' seemed trite. Not to mention, a lie. She hedged her bets a bit. "Look, at some point you are going to realize some things. And one of them will be that everything you've ever believed gets called into question. We spend a lot of time telling ourselves that fate is bull and that the only destiny is the one we create." She frowned slightly. "Unfortunately, kid… that ain't the case. Some of us have a... calling… a plan or whatever. We kinda can't run from it or… well," she sighed. She wasn't supposed to say anything. But she couldn't just leave the kid hanging like this. "Let's just call it fate and leave it at that for right now."

Quinn tried to decipher what Ms. Lehane meant. She couldn't though. "I don't understand."

Faith nodded. "I get that. At some point though… look, I think you like need an ally or whatever. That's gonna be me. You're trying to do what's right. So, I'm gonna help you. Let's just leave it at that for right now."

"Okay," Quinn finally answered. Now she was even more confused, but also… well, relieved maybe. "I guess I can do that."

"Try not to worry so much about everything. Don't get in your head. And don't blow up anymore." She smiled slightly. "Especially at your Spanish teacher."

Quinn grimaced. "Please don't expect miracles," she muttered.

To her surprise, Mrs. Lehane laughed at that. "You're right. Next time just come get me. I'll blow up at him instead."

Quinn smiled back. "I would kind of like to see that."

Faith nodded. "All right, Fabray. Back to class. No more smarting off to teachers today," she told her, opening the door.

"Yes mam," Quinn answered. The secretary was watching them but she finally thought… well, screw it. "Thank you, Ms. Lehane. I'm glad they hired you."

Faith noticed the secretary's look of surprise. Guess she wasn't used to seeing kids be intentionally polite. Stupid school, she thought. "Me too, kid," she answered, shutting her door behind her.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks for the reviews. I really appreciate them and I'm glad you guys liked to story.**

* * *

><p>"Should I go back to class?" Rachel asked Buffy, as they walked out of the principal's office.<p>

Buffy frowned at the closed door. She was worried about too many things to even think straight at this point. "I suppose… I was just…" She looked back towards Faith's door. Maybe she should go back in there. Quinn looked close to crying.

She turned to Rachel then. She was still expecting an answer. She sighed and decided to do her job. She shook her head softly. "How about we go back to my office for a bit first?"

Rachel shrugged. She really didn't want to go to Spanish and deal with that anyway. She could only imagine what the others would have to say about Quinn's outburst or whatever it was. So she followed Ms. Lehane back to the guidance office instead.

Buffy waited for the young girl to sit down before taking her own seat. Once they had gotten back to her office, she wasn't sure what they had to talk about. She couldn't really counsel her on being a slayer since she couldn't tell her. Something she was still really confused about honestly. She noticed the younger girl staring at her expectantly.

Buffy nodded, clearing her head. "Is there anything you want to talk to me about, Rachel? Anything going on?"

Rachel studied her face for a second. "Are you talking about my friends?"

Buffy frowned. "Do you consider them your friends?" Because I wouldn't, she thought.

Rachel sighed that. "I don't like to feel sorry for myself, Mrs. Lehane. The truth is, if I didn't call them that, I wouldn't really have any friends."

Well maybe the girl didn't feel sorry for herself, but Buffy still felt sorry for her. "Can I be all counselor-y for a moment and ask you how that makes you feel?"

Rachel smiled at her. "I am used to it, honestly. I know that I'm different. I don't look like Quinn and her friends. I am obviously not fashion conscious, though that's kind of by choice really. I am loud. A bit long-winded. It's really okay. I don't want to settle for mediocrity to be honest. So I just call them my friends. I know that I honestly don't have any. No girls have ever spent the night at my house. I used to think I was friends with Kurt, but then he gave me a makeover one time and made me look silly…" she shook her head. "It's a long story. But the point is… I sort of have had to deal with it forever now, so I'm used to it."

"I'm not sure that's something you should get used to," Buffy said. She sighed. She knew what feeling alone felt like. "Listen, whatever those kids think… Quinn was right, they're just jealous."

Rachel perched on the edge of her chair, all set to disagree.

Buffy shook her head. "No, really… they are." She shook her head. "It doesn't matter. What you need to know is that you're not alone. And all this stuff… it doesn't really matter in the long run." What does matter is that you're now a slayer. And that will be worse, Buffy thought. Ugh. She was more than frustrated at the turn of events in this small town. She started to get a sinking feeling that she and Faith were stuck here for a while.

Rachel smiled sweetly at her. "You're a good counselor. A lot better than the last one."

"Thank you, Rachel." She answered. She couldn't understand why the girl was so alone. Why are kids so cruel, she wondered?

The bell rang and Rachel jumped up. "I've got English. I'll see you later, Mrs. Lehane. Have a nice day."

"You too," Buffy called after her, frowning. She was worried. And she was getting attached. A bad combination.

* * *

><p>Unfortunately, neither woman was able to focus solely on the girls they were there to help. Working for a school came with a whole host of problems that they had to address. Apathetic teachers, psychotic cheerleading coaches, disinterested (and just as problematic – over-interested parents) and, of course, teenagers left them little time to discuss anything important at work.<p>

At 3:00, Buffy plopped down in one of Faith's chairs and sighed. "I am exhausted. Seriously, I used to think the biggest problem high school students faced was a giant snake trying to eat them. I was clearly wrong."

Faith, who'd been sitting at her desk working on the mound of fucking paperwork she had to complete every time she saw a student, parent, teacher, janitor, what the hell ever, took a deep breath. "Personal dig aside, I feel ya. I cannot begin to tell you what I had to deal with today."

"I can beat it," Buffy said.

Faith raised her eyebrow at that. "You can beat the hockey team gluing the science lab's door shut? They were doing some sort of experiment. One kid passed out. I had to call the police. And the paramedics. Not to mention the parents. And suspend an entire team of dumbasses. What kind of high school has a hockey team? And why do they have mullets? What the hell is wrong with this town?"

Buffy nodded, smiling confidently through the entire exchange. "Beside the myriad of goofy teenage problems and the four boys who tried to ask me out before lunch… probably the strangest thing I encountered today was the one girl who wanted me to help her find effective birth control."

"Uh… isn't that like your job? I mean not dating high school boys, cause… eww. But… well I figure maybe the holy rollers in this town might disagree, but I am pretty sure you can provide them with that kind of information. Cause yeah… the other thing I had to do was go through all this legal bs." She gestured to a stack of files on her desk. "You'd think Red could mojo this shit into my mind or something."

Buffy was still smirking. "Trust me. This was not a normal conversation."

_"I assure you. I don't have a cache of hand sanitizer. I'm sorry," Buffy told the fifteenth teacher who crossed her path looking for said item._

_"Ms. Pillsbury always kept hand sanitizer around. These kids are filthy," Fifteenth teacher frowned._

_It took reserve Buffy didn't know she had to bite her tongue. "I realize, but as you can see… I am, in fact, not Ms. Pillsbury. And though I have looked for the super-secret hiding place your colleagues claim she had, I can't find it."_

_Fifteenth teacher crossed her arms and huffed, storming out._

_Where the hell did Will send us? She thought, throwing herself back into her chair._

_The knock on her door startled her. "Yes?" She asked, sitting up straighter._

_The door opened and the tall blonde in a Cheerios uniform that had likened Buffy to her grandmother's cat walked in. "Hi, I'm Brittany. In case you didn't remember. Can I talk to you about something? Ms. Pillsbury used to give me pamphlets and stuff, but Lord Tubbington has an eye infection and his vision is blurry."_

_Buffy nodded dumbly. She decided she didn't want to know who the heck Lord Tubbington was. "Sure. Have a seat."_

_"I wanted to talk to you about birth control." Brittany smiled, not the least bit embarrassed or intimidated._

_"Oh, sure." Finally a normal question, Buffy smiled inwardly. "Is it for you?"_

_Brittany nodded. "Yeah."_

_"Okay. I think I can help you. What do you want to know?"_

_"Well, my friend Q, she got pregnant last year and she had a baby. And since I'm like Q, I don't wanna have a baby. I mean babies are cool and all but Q gave hers to Rachel's mom. I don't know anyone's mom who wants a baby. That means I'd have to keep it. And I'm afraid that would make San mad. Cause we have like all these big plans and stuff. Plus it would totally destroy my body. It's rockin. I can't chance it." She flipped her ponytail around and smiled at the counselor._

_Buffy quickly assumed Q was Quinn and the baby she was speaking of was Beth, who had, according to Willow's files, been adopted by Rachel Berry's birth mother. After that… she lost the thread of what the girl was saying._

_"Okay. Let's back up a second. Are you sexually active, Brittany?"_

_The younger girl nodded eagerly. "Mostly after cheerleading practice, but sometimes when we get a break, me and San will go and…"_

_Buffy held up her hand quickly. "No. I don't need specifics. It's fine." She thought about approaching it another way. "Have you spoken to… San, is it? What does he think about it?"_

_Brittany quickly scrunched her face. "San's not a he."_

_"Excuse me?"_

_"San is Santana. She's Hispanic. Not a boy." Brittany offered._

_Buffy pinched the bridge of her nose. "You are having sex with a girl?"_

_Brittany nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah. It's way better than with a boy. You probably know that though. Your wife is super hot. I bet she…"_

_The slayer held up her hand for the second time. "Okay. Are you only having sex with a girl?"_

_She continued to nod._

_"Right." Buffy smiled softly at the girl. "You can only get pregnant if you are having sex with boys or males or whatever. Not girls. Females can't get females pregnant. You don't need birth control. Though I do believe there are other options for protection against sexually transmitted diseases. I can help you with that, if you want."_

_"So, San can't get me pregnant?"_

_Buffy shook her head again. "No. She can't."_

_"So how do lesbians have babies?"_

_"Uh…" Buffy stuttered with that one. "Well… there's adoption. Or artificial insemination. Surrogacy. Lots of different ways. It just can't be accidental. I mean unless a lesbian had sex with a man, she can't accidentally have a baby. So you're safe, Brittany."_

_The taller girl breathed out a sigh of relief. _

_"Did you think that because you were a cheerleader like Quinn, you could get pregnant?"_

_Brittany looked at her funny. "No silly, cause we're totally unicorns. I mean sometimes Q doesn't know it. But she's been a unicorn since way, way back. It's totes obvious." As she finished speaking the bell rang. "Okay, gotta go. Thanks, Mrs. L. You're awesome."_

_Buffy watched her leave and fell back in her chair again. Unicorn. What the hell did that mean?_

"You win," Faith frowned.

"Told you," Buffy smirked. She noticed the clock. "That Glee club has practice in a few minutes. Maybe we should pop in after they get started? Then I think we should run home and grab a quick dinner so we can patrol. Where there's one vamp, there's bound to be more. Maybe we can figure out what the Coven is referring to, so we can finish this mission and I don't have to answer anymore weird questions about hand sanitizer and lesbian birth control."

"Did you tell her hand sanitizer was lesbian birth control?" Faith asked.

Buffy studied her for a moment, unsure if she was serious. She was never able to tell with Faith. It was either all or nothing with her. "Uh no, Faith. I did not. That would be stupid."

Faith studied her a moment. She didn't really put it past B, but she decided she didn't care as long as she didn't have to fill out paperwork regarding anything. "Well, weird shit aside, I think you're right. Though I ain't too keen on listening to show tunes for a damn hour."

Buffy nodded wordlessly. She wasn't too keen on that either.

Neither girl had spoken to, or even seen each other, since their mutual trip to the principal's office earlier today. Rachel was concerned about Glee being awkward and honestly a bit embarrassed about Quinn having to stand up for her in her absence.

It wasn't like she didn't know that her fellow club members talked about her when she wasn't present. She was used to being the topic of boring teenagers' conversations. It didn't mean that it didn't sting obviously, but… she wasn't delusional about where she stood with most of her team. No, what she was more concerned about was Quinn. And the retaliation she feared would follow once Quinn realized what had actually happened in Spanish. For that reason, she waited down the hallway for the blonde cheerleader as she watched the others file into the classroom.

* * *

><p>It wasn't until exactly 3:15, when Glee club was scheduled to start that Quinn rushed passed her. Rachel grabbed her arm, relying solely on her newfound agility, and pulled her into an empty bathroom.<p>

"Berry! What the hell?"

"I wondered if I might have a word," Rachel went for innocent. Innocence usually diffused the situation.

Quinn nodded abruptly. "We're gonna be late for Glee?" She wasn't sure why it was a question. She shook her head. What the hell is wrong with me? She thought.

"I assume they will survive without us for a few minutes," Rachel replied. She thought for a moment and then added. "It will most likely be boring without us there. My voice and your face are the only reasons people even watch us perform. I imagine they'll just bounce around and resort to catty and vacant comment until we arrive."

Quinn quirked her eyebrow at that. "I think in that long-winded rant there was a joke. A good one. Nice."

Rachel shrugged. "I'm actually quite funny. I just never get a chance to showcase my humor."

Quinn found herself easily believing that. "So is that why you pulled me into the bathroom dramatically? Your comedy routine?"

She shook her head quickly. "No. No. We can save that for another day and time," she smirked. "I just want to make sure that you and I are… well, I don't want to…" she cleared her throat, frustrated at her babbling. "I'm afraid that you may come to your senses, as it were."

Quinn studied her for a moment. "Come to my senses?" She finally asked. "About?"

"About defending me in class. It can only have negative repercussions for you. As someone who has sought social status, I can only imagine what it's like to have it and then lose it. And then gain it back again," she paused for a moment. "Good job, by the way. That was impressive." She shook her head. "I'm off topic, obviously. I just don't want to be sideswiped, so to speak."

At that, the blonde frowned. For a moment, she briefly considered throwing everything she said earlier in Rachel's face. Ungrateful flashed in her mind. But then she realized why Rachel doubting her actually hurt and the super-scary feeling of falling returned. She tried to shake it off. "Look Rachel, I get you don't trust me. You shouldn't. I've been horrible to you. I wouldn't trust me. But… uh, all that being said or whatever, I… uh… I meant what I said earlier. I am sorry. And I'm trying to change. So, you don't have to worry about… it's cool. Okay?" Her conversation with the principal flashed through her mind. She was so screwed.

Rachel nodded wordlessly and wondered briefly if Quinn had been replaced with a pod person.

Quinn, for her part, was equally stunned that she'd made Rachel speechless. If she hadn't been freaking out about more pressings issues she would've definitely tried to pat herself on the back. Instead she just tried to smile. "Ready to go?"

Rachel watched her for a moment. "You can go ahead. I am sure the gossip fodder wheels are already turning in there. If we go in together…"

Quinn almost grabbed her hand, but remembered the electric thing from earlier. "Screw it," she smiled instead. "Let them talk." She motioned for Rachel to lead the way. "In fact, I kinda want them too."

Rachel shook her head again. Seriously. She felt like she'd landed in another dimension or something. "Okay. Let them talk," she answered. "Screw it."

Quinn laughed behind her. "That's the spirit, Berry." She watched the girl walk out. Yep, screwed.

When they reached the choir room, Quinn grabbed Rachel's arm. She felt the bolt again though and quickly dropped it. I am definitely not making that up, Quinn repeated to herself. She wondered briefly if Rachel felt it as well, but pushed the thought from her mind. She was most likely going crazy. "Sit by me," she rushed out.

Rachel spun around. "Huh?"

"When we go in. Don't say anything. Just sit by me. Let me do the talking."

Rachel knew that she'd asked her to trust her. And she figured now was as good a time as any. If Quinn wanted to make a fool out of her, she'd have plenty of chances. "Okay," she smiled softly. "You lead."

Quinn nodded, and the mask she'd been perfecting since middle school slid into place. Instead of grabbing Rachel's hand, she grabbed the side of her bag the girl was carrying and led her inside.

"Sorry we're late," she announced. She spoke confidently though she was feeling anything but. She could feel Rachel standing behind her. Like really feel her. It felt weird, but… nice. She shook her head.

Schuester was standing in the middle of the room, obviously in the middle of a lecture. She briefly wished they'd just stayed outside until he was finished. But the look on his face gave her a perverse kind of pleasure. Dick.

"Rachel, Quinn. You two know what time Glee starts." He crossed his arms and tried his teacher scowl.

Quinn nodded and Rachel did the same.

"We lost track of time, Mr. Schue. It won't happen again," she smiled sweetly. She sat down in the front of the room and Rachel quickly followed. Both girls could feel the eyes on them.

"And where were you?" Schue asked Rachel specifically.

Everyone knew he was less scared of her than Fabray. Unfortunately it made her an easier target. Jealous prick, Quinn thought.

Rachel looked to Quinn, not sure if she was still supposed to let her lead.

"It's actually sort of private, Mr. Schue. And we'd rather not discuss it in front of the whole Glee club." Quinn smiled sweetly. "Right, Rach?"

Rachel finally nodded dumbly. "Uh right. We are sorry we're late."

Schuester was staring at them like they were about to spontaneously combust in front of him. "Uh yeah… okay. Just try to be on time. It's important that everyone is…"

"Wait. Hold up for a second. Nobody is even the slightest bit weirded out by this?" Santana asked.

The girls watched the rest of the club raise their hands one by one. Except Brittany who was smiling serenely.

Santana sat up. She'd almost been asleep when the wonder twins walked in. But that had definitely woken her up. "I mean, just yesterday Q was about to go all Freshman year on Berry. Now they are sharing secrets? What gives?"

"Yeah, Rach. Santanta's right. Why are you sitting with her and not me?" Finn asked.

"I didn't ask about that, Finnocent. I imagine that's because you molest her with your big Doberman paws and she's tired of all the mauling."

"Santana," Schuester warned.

Quinn had to forcibly control her eye roll. "Save it, Hudson. Let's just get on with practice, shall we?"

"Yeah let's. In Rachel's absence, and yours, though we can all be honest and agree you aren't exactly competition in this department, we were discussing the divvying up of solos." Kurt smirked, crossing his arms.

Quinn heard a small gasp beside her. She turned to look Kurt in the eye. Instead of crawling over the risers and smacking him stupid, she just smiled at him. "Have you ever done Shakespeare, Kurt?"

He preened a bit at the question. "No. Though I've always wanted to. I feel as if…"

"You'd be a perfect Claudius. The less than stellar brother of the king. He was always scheming. Waiting for a chance to take over. When the King finally died, he became the ruler. Of course, the country fell down around him. Oh… and everyone died. It's a perfect part for you." She deadpanned.

"Yes. Uh… we can get back to solos later. Let's just continue with the practice. I want to do another mashup of pop ballads from the eighties." Schuester announced.

Rachel suppressed a groan and cut her eyes surreptitiously at the girl sitting next to her. Not only had Quinn implied that she and her were in some sort of cahoots with each other, she'd managed to singlehandedly insult Kurt's ambitious backbiting and defend Rachel with one well-placed analogy. She wasn't sure what had come over the blonde sitting next to her. But she had to admit that she liked it.

* * *

><p>Faith followed Buffy down the hall towards the choir room. Truthfully, she knew they should pop in. She was totally still worried about Fabray and her meltdown earlier, which she'd neglected to tell B about. Mostly because she felt like she was confessing her own secrets and right now there was no reason to go there. But, what she really wanted to do was get the holy fuck out of this school and go home and take a damn nap. Give her vamps and demons over teenage assholes any day of the week.<p>

They heard singing coming from down the hall. Buffy paused a few feet from the door. "Is that…"

"Yeah," Faith nodded. "They're singing Rhianna. The girl sounds amazing though."

Buffy nodded back distracted. "That doesn't seem entirely appropriate for a school setting does it?" She peeked in through the door. The kids were dancing around the room in some sort of semblance of a dance routine.

Faith shrugged following her gaze. It really didn't. And why was that douchebag teacher dancing with them. How the old is he? "That teacher is a moron. Blondie's story was on point. He pretty much confirmed everything she said. And he still didn't realize what the hell he'd done wrong." It had pissed Faith off more than she already was at just about everything in this school and town. He honestly didn't understand why she was grilling him. She'd told him she'd talk to him about later and hung up the phone. It had kept her from barreling down the hallway and knocking him sideways. So yay… points for her. She noticed Buffy's confused face, and quirked her eyebrow.

"Coach Sylvester told me today that he uses Crisco in his hair." Buffy crinkled her nose. "I had to look that up on the internet."

Faith stared at her incredulously for a moment. "See. Here's the thing. Some stuff you shouldn't share. I mean it's cool if you share it with me or whatever, but when you don't know something… yeah. Just keep it between us and stuff."

"Hey! I'm offended by that." Buffy squealed, smacking her arm.

"Holy shit, B. Don't hit me!" She moaned, rubbing the spot. "You need to look up super strength on the internet?"

"Ass," Buffy muttered. She waited until they club was finished with their number before knocking.

* * *

><p>Faith sat back on the couch in their temporary living room and propped her feet up on the couch. Patrol was a big bust. She'd jumped in the shower as soon as she got home. She tried to rush, mostly because she wanted a beer and a little alone time, but also because she didn't want to use all the hot water because she knew how much Buffy liked the giant ass bathtub in the master bedroom (that the blonde claimed with the words <em>Dibs.<em> She hated the fact B was still faster than her). She briefly wondered when the hell she'd started worrying about Buffy's comfort level again and then realized she shouldn't go there.

Buffy had called Red after work and had her mojo both the girls. Just enough to keep them from running around outside alone after dark. She didn't know what kind of magic the Wiccan used and she didn't want to know. She just knew Willow had assured B that the girls would not be running around at night. She'd also assured Buffy that she was keeping some kind of magic tabs on them and they'd get a heads up if the girls were in any danger. It all sounded super suspicious to Faith and she didn't want to know much about it.

Danger. That was the word Faith didn't want to take for granted here. She and Buffy had flirted with danger for over ten years now. It was just another word for them. Like house. Or vacation. She had to admit that she forgot what it was like to be a teenager. To be afraid. To wonder what the hell anything in life even meant. And that was before the whole slayer bullshit. Afterwards… well, there was really no need to go there again.

She thought about the little scene in the less than harmonic (at least emotionally speaking) glee club earlier today. It was one of the reasons she needed the beer. The other one was enjoying that giant ass bathtub.

_"Mrs. Lehane and Mrs… uh… Lehane. Uh… how can we help you?" Sweater vest dude asked them._

_"We just heard singing and thought we'd pop in and watch. If that's okay?" Buffy asked sweetly._

_Faith mentally rolled her eyes. B's sweet voice was as phony as her hair color. _

_He nodded, obviously pleased that the school's new administration was taking an interest in the club. "We're working on a few songs for our set list for sectionals. We're just in the development stages. It takes a lot of time and…"_

_Faith tuned him out. He had the markings of a narcissist. No one spent that much time on their hair every morning without an overinflated view of themselves. As Buffy was nodding along with whatever the hell he was saying, Faith took a moment to survey the room. The first thing that popped into her head was 'What a fucking merry band of misfits,' but she had to admit they'd wowed her with the performance they'd just heard. She noticed Rachel and Quinn sitting down next to each other in the front risers. She had a feeling that was a new development. Mostly because the kids not watching the One Man Extravaganza who was preening for her pseudo-wife were watching the two girls. _

_"I have a question," a girl with dark hair in the school's cheerleading uniform asked. _

_The adults stopped speaking._

_"Yes, Santana," Schuester asked. _

_Santana – the other half of I Might Be a Pregnant Lesbian. Noted, Faith thought._

_"Not for you," she said, turning to Faith. "What do we call you? Mrs. Lehane, stutter, other Ms. Lehane is weird. I mean your wife told us to call her Buffy and all but my Mami said that was disrespectful and to figure it out. I kinda prefer to expend the brain power elsewhere though."_

_"I really don't mind…" B started._

_"Yeah, but don't you have like a maiden name or something?" Blonde kid with big lips asked. _

_Faith quirked her eyebrow at that. "Why don't you tell 'em, B?"_

_"Hey! That's what San calls me. B. We could totes be twins if I was older and shorter," tall Blonde Cheerleader exclaimed. Brittany, Faith remembered._

_"Giles," Buffy said quickly. "My maiden name is Giles." She winced. "But please, I'd really appreciate you not calling me that. Buffy is fine. Or Brittany calls me, Mrs. L. That's also fine."_

_Faith forced down her laughter. "Call her, Ms. Giles. Please. If it makes it easier." And gives me a reason to make fun of her later._

_B pursed her lips at her fake wife. _

_Fuckin A, Faith thought. "Call her Mrs. L." She all but growled. _

_All the kids nodded, terrified._

_Buffy smiled at Rachel. "We heard you singing. It was really amazing."_

_The big girl in the back of the room cleared her throat. "How do you know it was her? I mean there are other people in here that can sing."_

_Faith eyed her. She was sitting next to the skinny fashionista. She eyed him carefully as well. She figured these were the two Quinn told her about earlier. "So am I gonna ignore the fact that you just interrupted my wife who was obviously not speaking to you." She eye the girl carefully. "Was it you?" She asked. "Granted we've never spoken to you before today, so we don't know your voice. But we have spoken to Rachel here, and we do recognize hers. So unless you can mimic her, I am willing to bet my wheels it wasn't."_

_The girl shook her head. "Nah. I was just saying. She doesn't get all the solos." Her voice wasn't as defiant though, so Faith clocked that as a win. _

_However, she did notice two things after the girl spoke. First, Rachel seemed to deflate just a little. Her shoulders sagged and a tiny frown crossed her face. Second though, the girl's next to her temperature rose a few degrees and her neck flushed. _

_"Why does everything have to be a battle?" Quinn asked suddenly, turning abruptly and staring the other girl down. "Can you all just let it go for once?"_

_Faith caught Buffy's eye. They weren't sure what they had just walked into, but they did realize, based on the atmosphere in the room, it was not normal behavior. _

_"Look, I'm sorry Mrs. Lehanes, but…" the girl turned to Quinn, "you know this is whack. I don't know what Rachel did to you, but you're freakin us out."_

_The rest of the club, dumbass teacher included, started nodding slowly._

_Faith watched Rachel deflate a tiny bit more. She moved almost imperceptibly away from the taller girl. _

_And then Quinn stood up. Faith went to stop her, but Buffy put her hand on her arm. "Wait a moment," she whispered._

_Faith frowned, but stayed where she was._

_"Is that how you all feel?" Quinn stated, hands on her hips. _

_"You gotta admit it's a bit weird, yo." Wheelchair boy said. (Okay, Faith thought, she might need to rethink that nickname.) "It's like you got something planned. I mean I get Rachel can be all annoying but that's just downright cruel."_

_"Yeah, I mean Rachel annoys all of us. But you can't just pretend to like her. At least we're honest." Asian girl said (probably need to rethink that one too)._

_"I say carry on," skinny gay boy interjected. "She needs a dose of reality."_

_"What do you mean?"Quinn asked. Her tone was even. But both the slayers in the room could feel her heart raise rise. Faith had to admit that the girl cut an imposing picture. She could feel the fear coming off the others. She figured that was a hold over from Ms. HBIC's glory days. _

_"It's not like you like her, Quinn. It's pretty low pretending to be her friend just so you can try to get back with me." _

_Both slayers ventured a look at the giant boy sitting on the edge of the group. _

_Quinn spun on him. "Are you high or were you just born that stupid? I don't wanna get back with you. What the hell gave you that impression?"_

_"Language," useless teacher interjected._

_Buffy rolled her eyes._

_Faith chanced a look back at Rachel and noticed her lip quivering. She figured this had gone on long enough. She hadn't forgotten the girl's speech from earlier today. Jesus, this poor kid. "All right. I believe that's enough. Obviously," she said, turning towards Schuester, "you've got some serious dysfunction in your little club here. Might be the time to step up and be a coach."_

_She noticed Buffy worrying her lip, eyes shifting between the two girls. Rachel was staring at her hands, which were folded neatly in her lap. Now they've upset B, she thought. Goddamn it. If she starts crying over this shit later, Schuester will fucking rue the day I walked into this school._

_"Mrs. Lehane," Quinn asked, still standing. She was obviously addressing Faith. Faith nodded at her. "Can I please say one thing?" Faith wordlessly nodded. She figured arguing was pointless cause she was gonna say it anyway. Might as well look like she was on her side at least. "I'm going to be real honest here. I realize that's something you people don't expect from me. I know I'm a bitch, and I…"_

_"Quinn, language!" Vest boy exclaimed._

_This time both Faith and Buffy rolled their eyes at each other. _

_Quinn ignored him. "I am a bitch. I've been a bitch. I've treated most of you awfully. But not one of you has suffered my wrath more than Rachel. The thing is – the only person in this room that even gives half a damn about me is also Rachel." She caught Rachel's eye then. "I've already apologized to her. I can do it again here in front of everyone…"_

_The entire room was on the edge of their chairs. _

_"Apocalypse," one mumbled._

_"This has gots to be a dream," another said._

_"Wet dream," Mohawk answered._

_"Nightmare," other girl said._

_"That's not necessary," Rachel finally spoke up. _

_"I don't care," Quinn answered. "I am sorry. I don't want to fight with you anymore. I need a friend. And by the looks of things in this room, so do you. So from now on," She made eye contact deliberately with certain people in the room, "you guys have a problem with her, you go through me. You feel the need to insult her to make yourself and your miserable little existences more important, let me know first. She's the only damn reason I'm in this stupid club. In fact, she's the only genuine person in this room. And I know that she can help me be a better person, because to be quite honest, I haven't been. And if I can repay her by having her back – that's what I'm gonna do. So knock it off or deal with me," she growled, arms crossed._

_"Yup, definitely brainwashed."_

_"Knock it off, Mercedes!" Quinn snarled. _

_"Please," fashionista trilled, crossing his arms. "This is obviously post partum. You cannot tell me that the one and only Quinn Fabray had a change of heart about Rachel Berry. I'm pretty sure you were leading the 'I Hate Rachel Berry' fanclub a few months ago. Remember? How annoying she is? Short little midget who was dressed by her tranny granny? We almost ordered t-shirts And now you're friends. Right. Give us all a break so we can get back to what we know."_

_Buffy moved before Faith could and grabbed the girl around her waist. Both of them were pretty sure that there was about to be some blood shed on those risers. Truthfully, Faith chose to be a little slow on that one. She thought he could probably take a punch or two before she saved his snarky ass. _

_"Not going to happen," Buffy whispered very quietly in Quinn's ear. "Calm down."_

_The girl was thrashing in her arms. Faith forgot momentarily that she was as strong as she was, and she grabbed the girl's arm. "Simmer down, Fabray. Suspension is not worth it."_

_"Are you just going to let them say…" Quinn started. _

_She was interrupted by Rachel softly standing. "I would like to say something," she said, looking around the room. Most of them groaned, but she ignored it. "I've known for quite some time how everyone in here has felt about me." She looked down before making eye contact with Quinn. "I even knew about your club. I saw the Tumblr page. Creative really." She shook her head and turned back to the group. "I've pretended it was all a game. Character building or whatever. I walk in this room everyday and tell myself to just let it all go. Leave it at the door and power through. I just love to sing. Maybe that makes me a diva." She eyed the two rabble-rousers in the back. "But I've worked for that title. I'm not lazy. And I just wanted to be a part of something. But this is too hard. I'm tired of it. I'm tired of being mistreated. Laughed at. None of this is worth it. Not this club. Not Nationals. Nothing. Until today not one of you," she looked at the boy Faith assumed was her boyfriend, "have ever even bothered to stand up for me." She turned to the teacher. "It's obvious I'm the reason this team is so dysfunctional. And it's really just not worth it. So I believe the right thing for me to, as it were, is take my leave. I quit." And with that she marched out of the room. _

_"Rachel," Quinn called, trying to follow her. _

_Faith motioned with her head and Buffy went instead. Faith still had a stronger than necessary grip on the blonde. "Stay. Listen." She whispered softly, knowing the girl had slayer hearing. "And chill out."_

_The girl nodded wordlessly and sat down._

_"Sit," she growled at Schuester, who scrambled to a chair. "Good. Now listen up. I'm not a speech giver. That's my wife's shtick or whatever. But so is that," she waved towards the door Buffy had ran out of, "so I'm going to give it the 'ole college try." She put her hands on her hips. She knew her stance was aggressive. Shit, she knew she could be fucking terrifying. Apparently that's what some of these little fuckers needed. "One of the reasons we were hired is to combat, head on, the rampant bullying at this school. And we've only been here a few days and I gotta tell you – rampant is an understatement. I've seen things today that I really did not know was even possible. And trust me, if you knew what I've seen, that's saying a lot. But the atmosphere at this school is toxic. You've learned through apathy or whatever," she noted, looking at their teacher, "that you can choose an easy target and squash them. I remember being a teenager and I get it's not fun. But it definitely doesn't give you the right to crush someone else. This club is broken. You're supposed to be a team and what you are instead is a bunch of nasty, back-biting kids. Clean it up. Clean it up now. I don't care how. I don't care what you do. I do know you just lost the best reason you probably had for this club to exist. And that just means you're going to have to work extra hard to convince me that you need to continue. And again, I don't care how. But you best be figuring it out." She eyed the teacher one last time. "Man up, dude. Stuff like this," she waved her arm at the kids in front of her, "should not go down with you in the room. You're an adult. And a teacher. So be that. I see a change in one week and you can continue. I don't – and it's bye bye little singin' birdies. And I don't make empty threats." She eyed the rest of them carefully before spinning on her heels and walking out._

* * *

><p>Buffy rested her head against the rim of the oversized bathtub and thanked the Powers that Be that Faith took a quick shower when they got home. Courtesy was definitely not Faith's middle name, but since they'd gotten to Ohio… Buffy sighed and closed her eyes. Their relationship had always been at best defined as complicated. It was frustrating. The constant push and pull. Trying to guess Faith's motivations. Learning to trust someone who had tried to kill you more than once was hard.<p>

Of course, she was the one who'd almost succeeded in killing Faith. Never the other way around.

Giles explained to her after one of the many times Faith betrayed her (or she betrayed Faith – she couldn't even keep it straight anymore) that they weren't meant to exist together. Faith was her predecessor. Two slayers existing in the same time and space was an anomaly.

Now there were thousands.

Of course, she and Faith were still the originals. The yin and yang, and all that jazz. Light and dark. Good and bad. But the lines crossed and blurred. People died. People lived. Faith tried. Buffy tried. It was becoming easier. Looking back on everything, she realized maybe she did understand Faith's motivation. At the time she'd ignored it because she had no choice. There was Angel. Or Spike. Or the end of the world. Deputy mayors and accidental stakings and… it was all a mess. One Buffy ignored as she watched the only person in the world who understood her pain spiral completely out of control.

Watching the two girls they were charged to protect, the push and pull, the differences, the sameness… it was exactly like her and Faith… she knew that. But… she felt sorry for them both. She knew how hard their lives were about to get. How much they needed each other. She hoped they were smarter than her and her counterpart.

One thing she was certain of… Faith had changed.

_"Rachel," Buffy called down the hallway. "Rachel!" Jesus Christ, she thought – I wonder if she knows how fast she is._

_Rachel stopped abruptly in the hallway as she realized that an adult was calling her name. Diva storm-offs only worked in certain situations and Rachel was nothing if not respectful of authority. Well, most authority. Mr. Schue could kiss her ass._

_"Mrs. Lehane, I'm sorry for storming off like that. Honestly, it's quite normal for me to do that. I just shouldn't have been so dramatic with administrators in the room. I would like to apologize for my behavior." _

_"Do you normally quit glee club as well?" Buffy asked._

_She shook her head slowly. "No. That one is new. It's just…" She looked around. No one was in the hall. "May I speak freely?"_

_Buffy nodded. _

_"The last few months, I've felt… well, I guess just different. Stronger maybe. I just feel as if I have been the proverbial punching bag for my fellow teammates for too long. Today was just…" She frowned. "I think I'm meant for greater things than a high school glee club honestly."_

_Buffy pieced together what the girl said. She wanted to tread carefully. She hadn't missed the stronger comment, but she wasn't sure if she should ask the girl to elaborate or not. "Greater things? You mean Broadway? Hollywood? I think you are definitely talented enough."_

_Rachel frowned again. "Though both of those have been dreams of mine since I was very little, that is in fact not really what I mean." She scrunched her forehead. "Do you believe in destiny?"_

_Buffy succeeding in hiding a small gasp. "Destiny?"_

_"Yeah. Like fate. For some reason I feel like maybe now… I don't really understand it, Mrs. Lehane. It's almost like none of this," she waved her arms around, "really matters. I feel like there's more now. I feel awake. It's almost like I've been dreaming for sixteen years and now… Now I'm finally alive."_

_"What makes you think that?" Buffy asked her. Her head was reeling and she realized she and Faith were going to have to change their approach to both of these girls._

_"I don't really know. I can't begin to explain it." She smiled. "You probably think I am taking drugs or something, don't you?" She didn't wait for her to respond. "I assure you I am clean and sober. I once drank at a party and then well… it wasn't pretty. But now, I… I just feel like I could do anything."_

_Buffy studied her face. "I understand more than you think.." She put her hand on Rachel's arm. "Would you like to talk about anything else? Quinn?"_

_Rachel shook her head. "Quinn has always hated me. Maybe she's changed. She's a really sad girl honestly. I've always felt like she was misunderstood. But she's just a kid. Like me, really. I have no doubt she will come to her senses and see I am not worth the trouble. Regardless, it's time for new things, Mrs. Lehane." She turned to leave and then turned back around. "Thanks for checking on me. It is nice to see adults at this school who actually care about the student body. I'm very happy you guys are here. I have a feeling things are going to change at McKinley high school." And with that, she smiled at Buffy again and ran off towards the parking lot. "Have a nice night," she called behind her._

_"You…" Buffy started. "…too," she finished to herself._

_She felt Faith walk up behind her. The slayer bond. She'd never felt it with anyone else. "Is everything…"_

_"Let's get the fuck out of here before I rip that vest off that dumbass's body and shove it down his stupid throat," Faith growled behind her, barreling towards her office._

_Buffy didn't say anything. She just followed her wife. Or fake wife. Whatever._

* * *

><p>After a short run when she got home (for some reason she had no desire to run in the morning now, which was really weird), Rachel had dinner with her fathers. She felt lighter than she had in quite some time. Her fathers thought she'd lost her mind. But that was common. They came to the same conclusion at least once a week.<p>

When she got out of the shower, she noticed her cellphone. Honestly, she'd thrown it on her bed before going for a run and forgot all about it. When she heard the vibration, she just assumed it was Finn. He was the only one to call her or send her a text message really.

She picked it up. She was set on telling him she was fine. That she'd talk to him at school tomorrow. To be frank, she was kind of tired of him. She felt like everything was new. And Finn was a part of the old Rachel. The meek and terrified one. She made two decisions in the shower earlier. One – break up with Finn. Two – tomorrow, no more owl sweaters. No more pretending. She was wearing jeans. She was so excited; it was borderline giddiness.

When she pushed the home button on her phone, six names flashed across her screen.

_Finn Hudson – 12 missed calls._

_Text Messages_

_Finn Hudson (15)_

_*Rach call me_

_*Sorry_

_*U mad?_

She clicked on the next name. She didn't have time to decipher what the heck he was saying.

_Brittany Pierce (2)_

_*Rach I dont want u to quit glee so please dont your voice makes me smile when im sad its like rainbows and ice cream_

_* Lord Tubbington said if u want to talk u can call him but i hid his fone message him on twitter_

_Noah Puckerman_

_*Hey hottie. Sorry milk chocolate was an ass. So was wheels. And Tina. WTF was that, huh? Q went all crazy after hot principal ripped us all a new one. For what it's worth I'm thinkin baby's mama is serious. I know you don't wanna believe her, but she had those cryin eyes. You know the ones. So yeah. Give her the benefit. Oh. And fuck glee. They don't respect you princess. I'm proud of ya. _

_Sam Evans_

_*If you wanna talk, call me. I'm sorry about what happened today. Most of the time I'm scared of Quinn. Today I was kinda terrified. She was right and I wish I'd said something sooner. Just know that I'll miss you if you leave the club._

_Mike Chang_

_*Hey – most of the gleeks are idiots. Sorry if they were out of line. Stay strong. You don't want to be in the club, you don't have to be. We definitely need you more than you need us. _

_Satan Lopez (2)_

_*All right Hobbit, I'm sorry. No disrespect or whatever. That hot principal said we've got a week to shape up or she's cancelling the club. To be honest, it ain't the same without you. There I said. Fuck it. You are the star. Q was right. It's just freaky seeing her all Team Berry or whatever. I didn't think she'd figure that shit out until a clambake in college. But go her. Maybe I'll get her some flannel. Anyway, you do you. We can figure the club out._

_*Oh – and fuck chocolate and milk. Diva ass wannabes. _

Okay, Rachel thought. She stared at the last text message for a solid minute. I've apparently lost my mind. Obviously I have. Quinn's been abducted and replaced by aliens. And they've gotten to the others.

Even as she was shaking her head at her own ideas, her phone buzzed again. She assumed it was Finn and started to just turn it to silent. She was glad she didn't.

_Quinn Fabray_

_* Hey, it's Quinn. I don't know if you have my number or not. I had to beg Puckerman for yours earlier. But if he says I threatened him, he's lying. I wanted to see if you were okay. I know I probably don't really have a right to ask that, but I still was worried. If you could let me know I'd be forever in your debt or something. _

Rachel stared at her screen for a moment. Before she could answer, it buzzed again.

_Quinn Fabray_

_*Also there's something I want to talk to you about. I kind of forgot about it earlier, but yeah… I was driving home from Cheerios and I remembered something I heard this morning at practice. So if you get this, text me back. Please? _

Rachel Berry

* Hi. Thanks for checking in. I'm fine. You really don't have to worry.

* But I am curious what you want to talk about. Is everything okay?

_Quinn Fabray_

_*I actually can't believe you answered me. I sort of figured you hated me._

Rachel Berry

*I assure you I don't. I thought we already covered that. I'm sorry for my behavior in glee today. But I don't believe I'll be returning.

_Quinn Fabray_

_*You don't have to apologize. Trust me. They were assholes. Also Lehane ripped them a new one. There was probably fall out, but I sort of stormed out and got to practice earlier. Coach was happy at least. _

Rachel Berry

*Well a happy Sylvester is most likely a good thing.

*What was it you wanted to talk about?

_Quinn Fabray_

_*Okay, this is going to sound weird, but – do you trust me?_

Rachel Berry

*I probably shouldn't to be honest, but yes.

_Quinn Fabray_

_*I like bluntness, Berry. ;) Good job. _

_*Do you think you could meet me? Or I could pick you up? I just kind of want to talk to you in person. You can bring your mace or whatever. That way if you're worried, you can just spray me and jump ship. __J_

Rachel Berry

*I just got out of the shower, but I could meet you. Or just come by.

*Oh and text me when you get here. I'll come out.

*Serious warning though – I'm in my pajamas, so if this adventure requires me getting out of your car, you're on your on. ;)

_Quinn Fabray_

_*Nope. You're safe with me. Be there in ten._

Rachel sat back in her desk chair wondering what the heck she'd just agreed to. She ran the towel through her hair and pulled a pullover on over her tank top. She threw on her running shoes. Her phone buzzed as she was tying them.

_Quinn Fabray_

_*Outside._

Rachel Berry

*Give me two.

"Dad? Daddy? I'm going riding with Quinn. She wants to talk to me about something. I'll be back in a little while. Love you! Good night," she called, running out the door.

She nonetheless heard "What the hell is wrong with that girl?" and "Was she in her pajamas?"

When Quinn texted Rachel, she had found nothing interesting in her internet search. She combed through countless websites. It wasn't until she was about to leave her house that she came upon on video. She was telling herself it wasn't real. She'd stopped watching about a minute in.

Quinn pulled into the Berry driveway and sent Rachel a text telling her she was there. She couldn't believe she was in the Berry's driveway. She couldn't believe she was doing any of this. But… after what she found or rather what she didn't find… she couldn't think of anyone else to tell but Rachel. She needed to tell Rachel. She needed Rachel to watch it with her.

When Rachel's door opened, she ran out in a purple NYU hoodie and the shortest damn shorts Quinn had ever seen. Like at first she wasn't sure she even had shorts on. Her heart did that beat skipping thing again and she tried to shake it off before she got in the car.

Rachel opened the door and slid inside. "Hi," she whispered. It was almost… well, shy.

"Hey," Quinn said, pulling out of the driveway. She was holding her iPad in her lap. She handed it to Rachel. "Can you hold this while I drive?"

Rachel nodded. "Sure. But I don't really understand…"

"I can't really explain. It's just today – I mean this morning, I heard the new principal and her wife discussing something called a hellmouth." Quinn pulled out of the driveway. For some reason she couldn't place, she was scared to stay still. It's why she suggested she pick Rachel up in the first place.

"What's a hellmouth?" Rachel's face was scrunched up.

"All I could find was that it was some sort of opening to hell? I don't know. It was sketchy. Medieval art and that kind of thing. It didn't make any sense really. But then I got to thinking. And so I searched them," she answered.

"Them?" Rachel asked. "Who's 'them'?"

"The Lehanes. And nothing." Quinn turned onto the highway. "I mean it was weird. Like everybody has a Google trail, don't they. But I couldn't find anything." She was watching the road.

Rachel was studying her face. "Okayyyy… I don't know uh…"

She pulled the car over in a parking lot beside the Methodist church. It was well lit and for some reason it made Quinn feel safe. Considering her history with churches, she found that sort of ironic. "So then I thought, maybe that's not their names. So I searched just Buffy and Faith. And I found that video. That's it. I mean there's nothing else. But there was that video. So can you just uh… maybe like trust me and watch it? I haven't got all the way through it." Her voice was almost shaking.

Rachel nodded wordlessly and pushed the play button. The video was shaky and a young man was holding the camera so he could film himself. She turned up the volume.

_"Buffy says that today is the day. After the latest mishap with the dark slayer Faith, she has come back to take control. Today we fight. I've affixed this pen camera to a book in Buffy's bedroom. Once the battle begins, I will attach it to Rona's shirt. I believe it will capture what we encounter and hopefully be saved in the ether provided we never make it. "_

_Faith and Buffy were in a bedroom speaking to a few others._

_"What do you think?" Buffy asked._

_ "That depends. Are you in any way...kidding?" A brunette guy asked her._

_Buffy frowned at him. "You don't think it's a good idea?"_

_Faith answered her " It's pretty radical, B."_

**_"_**_It's a lot more than that. Buffy, what you said, it—it flies in the face of everything we've ever—every generation has ever done in the fight against evil." An older man interjected. He then smiled. "I think it's bloody brilliant."_

_Buffy smiled back hopefully . "You mean that?"_

_He nodded at her. "If you want my opinion."_

**_"_**_I really do."_

_The redhead spoke up. "Whoa, hey. Not to poop on the party here, but I'm the guy that's gonna have to pull this thing off."_

_ "It is beaucoup d'mojo." Faith agreed. _

_ The redhead nodded. "This goes beyond anything I've ever done. It's a total loss of control, and not in a nice, wholesome, my girlfriend has a pierced tongue kind of way."_

_The teenager looked at the redhead strangely. And the old man looked away disturbed._

**_"_**_I wouldn't ask if I didn't think you could do it." Buffy told the girl._

**_"_**_ I—I'm not sure that I'm stable enough." The redhead stuttered._

_" You can do this, Willow. We'll get the coven on the line, and we'll find out how they can help." The older man said._

_ "Oh!" the young girl nodded dramatically "Pierced tongue."_

_Buffy panicked " Dawn needs to do a research thing."_

_The older man agreed, nodding his head." Yes, you do."_

_Dawn rolled her eyes. "It's cool. Watcher junior to the library."_

_"I'll go dig up my sources. Quite literally, actually." The older man said as he left the room._

_Another Brunette spoke up. "Come on, let's go assemble the cannon fodder"._

_Brunette boy answered her. "That's not what we're calling them, sweetie." And walked out. _

_The girl followed him "Not to their faces. What, am I insensitive?"_

_Buffy handed the weapon thing over to Willow. Faith was standing beside Buffy._

_The scene cut to what looked like a living room. There were several girls watching. Waiting. _

_"I hate this. I hate being here. I hate that you have to be here. I hate that there's evil, and that I was chosen to fight it. I wish, a whole lot of the time, that I hadn't been. I know a lot of you wish I hadn't been either But this isn't about wishes. This is about choices. I believe we can beat this evil. Not when it comes, not when its army is ready, now. Tomorrow morning I'm opening the seal. I'm going down into the hellmouth, and I'm finishing this once and for all. Right now you're asking yourself, 'what makes this different? What makes us anything more than a bunch of girls being picked off one by one?' It's true none of you have the power that Faith and I do. So here's the part where you make a choice."_

The screen cut to what Rachel assumed was a high school.

"I almost stopped watching there," Quinn whispered. I wasn't sure I could watch the rest alone." She swallowed. "I heard them say that one girl's name. Willow? Earlier today. When they were talking about the hellmouth."

Rachel nodded sympathetically. She turned back to the video. She caught a glimpse of someone with dark hair, but the camera was shaky. And then for lack of a better word – all hell broke loose. She noticed both of the Lehane women, and several other girls, fighting something that looked like her nightmares times a thousand. There was fighting and girls were dying.

_Keep the line together! Drive them to the edge! We can't let them do—" Buffy screamed. She looked down and saw that she'd been stabbed from behind. She stumbled forward and collapsed face-first on the ground._

_"Buffy!" Faith screamed and runs to her side._

_Buffy leaned up on her elbow weakly. "Hold the line," she whispered, falling back over._

_Faith screamed"Rona!" And threw the weapon Buffy held earlier to the girl who was wearing the video camera. There was static. _

_And then the camera spun around._

_"I want you to get out of my face!" Buffy screamed at something. The camera girl threw the weapon back to her. It was almost as if she wasn't even injured._

_And then the girl wearing the camera went down. Everything faded to black._

Rachel was shaking when the video stopped playing. Quinn understood the feeling.

"I saved it to my iPhoto and then emailed it myself and saved it on a flash drive. I'm really glad I did because when I went back, it was gone." She was glad she had pulled over because she was shaking too.

"Maybe it's not real?" Rachel asked weakly. She felt nauseous.

"It's a hell of a fake," Quinn answered. She'd told herself it wasn't real too. She'd told herself a lot of things. But there was one thing she couldn't shake. One thing that she knew for certain.

"Turok-Han," Rachel finally whispered.

Quinn spun in her seat and stared at the girl. "What did you say?"

"I've dreamed about them. For three months. They come out of a hole. In a high school in…"

Quinn felt like the world was slipping out from under her. She knew as soon as the video started what they were. She'd had the same dream or at least one closely related. "…Sunnydale, California," she whispered back. "Holy fuck."

Rachel closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Holy fuck indeed."

Buffy was just about to get out of the tub when Faith burst through the bathroom door, phone clutched in her hand.

"Faith!" She squealed. "Don't you know how to knock?!"

Faith's bravado dissipated quickly as Buffy continued to stand up, grabbing a towel. "Uh…" she averted her gaze. "Red called. Said the girls found some video of what happened in Sunnydale. Apparently Andy is a dumbass and remotely uploaded it or something and… whatever. Anyway, they're together. And we should…" she was still staring at the all. "…go find them or whatnot."

Buffy watched her, amused. "I'm pretty sure you've seen me naked." She grabbed another towel and dried her hair. "Do we know where they are?"

"Red's got some sort of track on them. I don't know what the fuck she's talking about, but yeah… we know where they are."

Buffy studied the woman standing in front of her as she threw her clothes back on. Faith was rarely this… nervous? "Are you okay? I mean, yeah this makes our job a little harder, but on the scale of things we've dealt with, two angry teenagers aren't really that big of a deal."

Her question knocked Faith out of her stupor. "Yeah. Yeah. I'm cool. I just…" She bit her lip, thinking. "Red thinks we should get them back here and she'll pop in and hypnotize them or whatever. I don't really get why we can't tell them. She said they were the last. Oh, uh that was the other thing I was supposed to tell you. They're the last. Slayers or whatever. I don't know how the hell she knows that."

The caused Buffy to pause. "Really? No more? What does that mean?"

Faith shrugged. "She said she'd explain after she wipes them," she visibly shivered at that. "I gotta say I'm less than on board with that."

Buffy nodded, frowning. "I know… I am too. But, let's just go find them. Maybe Willow can explain more when she gets here."

Rachel and Quinn were sitting in a diner drinking coffee. After they watched the video once more, Quinn had wordlessly driven them to the dinner because she knew she needed coffee. Obviously she could never sleep again.

"What do you think it means?" Rachel asked. Her hands were shaking so hard, the coffee was sloshing over the side.

Quinn shrugged. "It's been about three months for you too?"

Rachel nodded. "I'm definitely physically stronger. I'm not sure when I noticed it. I sort of faced it when I realized I could do complicated acrobatics without ever actually learning how."

"Me too." Quinn sighed. "I mean not backflips and stuff. I could do that anyway. Just the strength. Well that and Cheerios is a hell of a lot easier than it used to be. A few months ago, the girl underneath me on the pyramid lost her footing and I fell. All the way from the top of the pyramid. And I landed on my feet." She took a drink of the coffee. "After Sylvester accused me of buying cat hormones on the internet, and don't even ask, cause I don't know… she was impressed. Anyway, it's kind of been a case of what the hell is this? Balanced with I'm just going to ignore this."

"Me too." Rachel knew they had to be practical about what was happening. It was strange and she was scared. But she had to admit to herself that she was glad there was someone she could share it with. Even more surprising, she was glad it was Quinn. "So what do we now? Maybe we should make a list. Go from there."

"I think we should talk to our so-called principal and her tiny wife. Maybe they know why we've been having nightmares about things they know. You realize now that they're here because of this, don't you?"

Rachel nodded. "I assumed."

"Do you think we're the only ones?" Quinn asked her.

Before Rachel could answer, Faith appeared and slid into the booth next to her. Buffy frowned and sat down next to Quinn.

"You're not the only ones. But you are the only ones here," Buffy said. She saw the terror cross Rachel's face. For her part, Quinn was just angry. And Buffy could feel that too.

"Chill out, Fabray. Look… we get this shit is a mindfuck. But you're gonna have to trust us," Faith said.

"Do you have to use such crass language?" Buffy exasperatedly asked her.

Faith rolled her eyes and turned to Rachel. "I'm so very sorry you young ladies are being forced into this new and frightful situation. However may we help you?" She sing-songed in a well-rehearsed British accent.

Buffy was about to chastise her again, when she noticed the girl beside her shaking. She put her hand on Quinn's arm to calm her. Obviously it had the opposite effect as Quinn grabbed her hand and squeezed.

Faith rose up instinctually, but as usual, B had it under wraps. She removed Quinn's hand with little more than a flick of her wrist. "I get it. You're strong. And so are you," she said, looking at Rachel this time. "The thing is, so are we," she nodded towards Faith. "In fact, we're a lot stronger than you. And we know what you're feeling right now. And we want to help you. But you've got to trust us. So no more with the grabby, grabby. That's silly and can get you hurt."

Rachel was frowning. Quinn was more like… scowling. "What are you?" She spit out, subconsciously rubbing her hand.

"We're what you are. Or what you've become," Buffy groaned, frustrated. "So, yeah… one girl in all the world… except that's not true anymore and…" she sighed and realized she wasn't good at explaining this. Most of the time the girls were more than aware of what they were by the time they got to her. She decided to swallow pride and looked to her darker half for help.

Faith bit back the smirk she so, so wanted to give her. "Here's the sitch – a long time ago there was a lot of nasty shit in this world. And humans needed a way to defeat it. So they created the slayer. One girl in all the world and all that bullshit. Lots of girls were called – one every generation, and don't ask why it's girls, cause I don't know except that we're just better at it, but… anyway, one girl was supposed to fight these… baddies or whatever. Anyway, that worked for like… forever and what not. And then something bigger than bad started happening and we needed more than one. So we got a bunch. There's a thousand girls like you out there. Just as strong. They've all felt all the shit you're feeling right now." She watched them watching her. "B here was the first," she motioned to Buffy. "Then someone drowned her for like six seconds or something. Some other chick got called but she died. Then I was called. B and I…" she shook her head. "Long story. Anyway, we needed help. So here you are."

Quinn was open-mouthed staring at the principal at this point. "What do you mean by 'baddies'?"

Faith shrugged at this. "Shit your nightmares are made of. Vampires. Demons. Things that go bump in the night. It's real. Sorry to be the one to break it to you."

Buffy watched her. She was terrible at explaining this. What the hell? How had she been so successful? "You're worse than me. That didn't make any sense. How did you recruit all of those girls if you can't…" She had an epiphany. "Giles," she nodded.

Just as Faith said, "Giles."

Right, Buffy thought. "Look girls," she started, but was interrupted.

"That is the most preposterous and ridiculous thing I've ever heard. Have we been drugged?" Rachel began. "Vampires aren't real. Neither are demons. I'm pretty sure if they were we'd know about it by now. It's the twenty-first century. Are you going to kidnap us and sell us in a foreign child trafficking ring? Because I am probably not worth that much. I'm pretty ethnic." She looked thoughtful. "Quinn would probably bring in a healthy sum though."

"What the hell, Berry?" Quinn asked.

Rachel frowned. "I mean, she wouldn't obviously. Neither of us would. Ignore me." She eyed the table, trying to see if she could slide out of the booth.

Quinn was watching her, and judging her chances as well.

"No way, "Faith said. "We aren't going to hurt either of you." She looked at Rachel. "Or sell you," she rolled her eyes. "So stop trying for escape routes. We actually are stronger than you."

Buffy smiled at Rachel. "Look we can explain everything. But we need you guys to come with us."

Faith groaned inwardly. No way these girls were going to trust them.

"Uh that's a big hell now," Quinn answered for her. She looked at the principal. "Not until we know what's going on."

Faith caught Buffy's eye. How were they supposed to get the girls back to their house? What were they even doing? She didn't get a chance to voice that question because someone interrupted her.

"Hi guys. My name is Willow and I'm Buffy's friend," said interruption voiced as she walked up.

"Will!" Buffy exclaimed. "When did you get here?"

Goddamn mojo, Faith thought. Freaky as shit.

"Just now, Buff. Ken's back at the house." She smiled sweetly at the two young girls who were watching her. "It's nice to meet you, but you guys are gonna have to come with us, okay?" She asked, in her sweet and innocent, I'm totally not a scary witch voice.

Faith watched both the girls nod their heads dumbly. She wanted to growl as they all stood up. She hated the power the redhead had over people when she wanted. It scared her.

It was evident that she'd already cast some sort of spell on both of the girls because they followed without any protest. When they got outside, Willow put her arms around them. "We'll meet you guys back at the house," she smiled and poofed away.

Faith did groan this time. "Goddamn it," she muttered. She turned to Buffy who was frowning as well. "I do not like this. I'm going on record right now and saying so. I don't like it. We need to tell these girls what's going on. She's gonna keep fucking with their heads and I just…" She sighed. "I don't like it."

Buffy frowned, even as she nodded. She should be surprised at how much Faith already seemed to care about them, but she really wasn't. "I know. Let's just get home," she sighed, patting Faith's arm. "The faster we get there, the faster we can figure it out."

Faith nodded at her and opened the car door. "Let's hurry before Red turns them into bunnies or something."

Buffy frowned deeper. "That would be funny if it weren't a distinct possibility."

* * *

><p>When the slayers got back to their house, they rushed inside. Both girls were lying on opposite couches, sleeping… at least that's what it looked like.<p>

"Bro," Ken smiled, fist bumping Faith. "You miss me?"

Buffy rolled her eyes. That friendship confused her. "We've been gone for two days." She turned to Willow. "What is this?" She asked, motioning her hand.

"Nothing," Willow answered. "I just hypnotized them. They won't remember anything tonight. Unfortunately, Rachel told her fathers she was going with Quinn though. So we just gave them another memory."

Great, Faith thought.

Ken shook her head. "Not we. Don't put that on me. I just watched. She thinks they have a thing for each other. Something about them being the last, like you guys are the first so obviously…"

"Ahem," Willow cleared her throat, shooting her girlfriend a death glare. "Anyway. It'll be fine. They think they went to see the new Spiderman movie together. I did not make it a date," she shot Ken another death glare.

"So you gonna mojo them home or you want us to take them. Quinn's car is at the dinner. Wanna mojo that too?"

Will rolled her eyes. I can zap them into their bedroom. You and Ken can take her car home tonight after I do it.

"So that's it?" Buffy asked. "They are nonetheless the wiser and no worse for the wear?" She wasn't sure she believed that. This was twice now for Rachel. There had to be some sort of, like residual, or something.

"They're right as rain, Buff. Promise."

Right as rain, my ass, Faith thought.


End file.
